On Tuesday afternoon we visited the Sao Paulo Commodities and Futures Exchange. This is where they exchange derivatives (which are like stocks that derive their value from the underlying asset, so if oil goes up, an oil derivative would go up), as well as carbon credits (which businesses can exchange so that, as a whole, the comunity maintains greenhouse gas emission standards). Its lots of very complicated and crazy stuff - I commented that its like legalized gambling. The best part, though, was when we got to see the trading floor. This was just like in the movies with hundreds of guys (no women, interestingly enough) screaming orders to buy and sell at each other. I tried to send out a video, but it was too big. You'll have to see it to believe it, though. A picture is below:
That night, a small group of us went to a Brazilian "barbecue." This is a concept we might have to try at home. They brought out a fondue candle but then put a 10" x 12" griddle on it. Then they brought out a tenderloin with garlic and butter on top, sliced very thin. You tossed the pieces on the grill and cooked them to your liking. It was a lot of fun, and very good. This bar was amazing - absolutely packed at 9pm on a Tuesday night, with more people coming in when we finally left at about 11:30. I don't know how the Brazilians do it - party until the whee hours and then go to work at 8. Actually, I tried their coffee....now I know how they do it!
Wednesday was an all-class day. The classes are all going well so far. Nothing extraordinairly difficult, and certainly not as hard as U of Chicago. Good thing, too, because I am still having to do homework for U of C while here in Brazil. We've been laughing at how there is a lot of overlap in the classes here, with corruption and inflation (both historical problems here) being major topics in everyone's presentation. However, with the overlap, we've notice a lot of different numbers. Not everyone appears to be on the same page. Oh well. Wednesday night Kirin (the other U of C student) and I went to a cafe near the hotel for dinner. We were clearly Midwesterners in a tropical town. The temp had dipped to the 60's and Paulistanos were buying winter hats on the street. Kirin and I sat outside, though, enjoying the lovely weather.
Today started off with a trip to a can-making factory. This company has won tons of innovation awards over the past decade, something you wouldn't expect for a tin-can factory. It was pretty interesting, with a speech from the CEO and then a tour of the factory. After class this afternoon, it was back to the hotel to wrap up some homework and get to bed at a decent time (I accomplished one of those!). I also got to coach a US indoor soccer team, coached by Milwaukee's own Keith Tozer, get trounced by Brazil, 4-0. Ouch.
Tomorrow, a big group of us is headed to Rio Dejaneiro for the weekend. We're on 4 different flights, and the most anyone paid for a round-trip flight was $120 total. Good stuff. We'll be staying on Ipanema beach, and are going to take a stab at hang-gliding from the mountains. Oh, yeah....and I need to take a picture high-fiving the Cristo Redentor statue for Ben. So I should have another long post on Sunday, but more importantly, more pictures! Stay tuned!
I hope everyone is doing well at home. Take care, and keep in touch.
-Kevin
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