Back in Sampa

First off, a round of applause because I am actually taking the time to write something here. Crazy, eh? Though this time around I have a feeling that my readership will be lower than before, but that's okay because I doubt I will have nearly as many embarrassing gringo moments as in 2009.

So, the trip started off rather smoothly - no traffic on the way to the airport in Pittsburgh, the flight was on time, stopping at JFK was ultra-easy as my layover only required me to walk about half a mile between gates, at most. The flight from JFK also left on time, and unlike 2009 taxing didn't seem to take 50 minutes. I was disappointed to find out that there were no individual TVs in the seatbacks on the plane. The flight itself was mostly fine, but I was limited to about four hours of sleep because I chose to stay awake and watch some movie with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston and then we kept hitting pockets of moderate turbulence that would wake me up just as I was about to float away in dreamland. Thanks, air.

I landed at Guarulhos (an infinitely smaller airport than JFK and even Pittsburgh) and was dismayed to find that my Samsung Focus on ATT would not pick up any cell signal. What kind of "world phone" doesn't work in a country that uses the same cell signal standards? Fortunately, the friend picking me up at the airport also got me a Brazilian SIM card which I can use in my creaking, old iPhone 3.

The days so far have been pretty busy, seeing a variety of things. Some of these photos are not mine even though I did take photos there (thanks to my Samsung phone - great camera but for some reason it won't find the apartment's WiFi and thus I can't get pictures off of it). One of my favorites is the Mercado Municipal, a large market near the center of São Paulo. I always love markets, because it's a great way to see a lot of the foods that are popular and traditional among locals, and as a result you can learn a good bit about the culture. The other reason is because I am sane and thus love to eat. Walking among the stalls here, there is a multitude of fresh fruits, mounds of meat, miles of cheese, and millions of other things. Typical Brazilian foods like pão de quiejo (a cheesey bread ball), bacalhau (codfish, typically dried and put into a fried bolinho or a pastel, similar to an empanada), and carne seca (dried, seasoned, shredded beef) sit next to foods from various immigrant groups: Italian, Croatian, Japanese, and more. And the fruit stands contain all sorts of things that have no English word, along with others that do but that we in America don't think about (example: caju - who knew cashews came from a fruit? and lychee - a fruit used in teas, originally from China but now grown in many tropical climes). But far and away the best part of Brazilian markets is that you can try just about anything before you by - the fruit stand workers practically harass you with items to try. As soon as we started looking, I had ultra-fresh mango crammed down my throat, seedless grapes (special because in Brazil, like most countries, seeded grapes are the norm), these weird sweet fruits like this, this (looks like a tomato but tastes kind-of like an apple), and this (which has a soft, mushy inside and tastes good sprinkled with a little lemon juice), and many more. Side note - here, lemons are uncommon and are called limões (as are limes).

We also saw the Parque Burle Marx, Pinacoteca museum, the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (one of the most famous art museums in Brazil, and normally called MASP [MASPee if you're saying it in Portuguese]), and the outside of the Estação de Luz train station. There have been other sights mixed in with those that are probably escaping my memory at the moment, too.

Those of you who enjoyed some of my gaffes last time around will be saddened to know that I'm not quite that much of a gringo this time, but I've still had some funny moments due to my Portuguese-only policy. One night, some friends and myself were discussing cartoons we watched when we were children, and the started describing something called "Dougee Funnee". They were quite surprised that I didn't know what it was and that we didn't have it in America. About five minutes later, I'm describing some cartoons and mention Doug. Immediately, they break out into hysterical laughter while I look on confused, until one told me that, duh!, we were talking about the same cartoon and I hadn't realized it. I must say, I am pretty confidant in my Portuguese skills, but one of the things that still sometimes catches me off guard is when people say proper nouns of American things, but they say them in Portuguese and in a paulista accent (paulista being of São Paulo state). I think in 2009 I mentioned how hot dogs are "hotchee dogee" and Samsung is "Samsungee", for example. It can be tricky when you're used to hearing words one way and all of a sudden they are being said in another way, in a different language, when you expect to have to guess the meaning of a lot of things. Anyway, those moments always provide me with a laugh when I finally realize what's being said.
A second good "Dan messing up Portuguese" moment came during my first day or two here. The friend I'm staying with is in the process of moving into this new apartment, and thus there isn't much in the way of furnishings or normal household wares yet. So, he and his girlfriend were asking me if I wanted more than one pillow for my bed, since we were going to stop by his old house later to grab some things. I said (in Portuguese) "yeah, I'd like more. I normally sleep with two traseiros." They looked at me puzzled for a split second before laughing so hard my friend almost veered off the road. You see, the word for pillow is travesseiro. Traseiro is, to put it politely, a different word for one's hindquarters. Not sure what I'm doing sleeping with two of those.



All in all, I can say that coming back has already outweighed the costs of the trip. I'm glad I didn't let my doubts get the best of me earlier - I may have had more money in my bank account, but I would be missing out on all the great times and, far more importantly, the absolutely wonderful people here. Sometimes people from São Paulo joke with me and ask why in the world do I like this city? It has grime, pollution, traffic at all hours, extreme poverty next to extreme wealth, et cetera et cetera. And I always reply that, yes, the city has its problems, but it's not for a pretty view that I came back. It's because I know that some of the best people on earth live here.

The Return

After more than a year's absence, I will be returning to the Paulistano Sevillano blog scene briefly during my return to Brazil from May 31 through June 20, an almost poetic two years after I first arrived in that far-off land...

I'll do my best to remember this exists and to provide a few posts during my stay.

Stay tuned.