30 days in Brazil. Day One.

September 6, 2010

After months of anticipation, I can´t believe I´m finally here! I arrived at the Sao Paulo International airport this afternoon. Pedro and his mum were there to pick me up- as promised, Pe bought me a (real) coffee (aka HEAVEN in a cup), helped me exchange my Canadian dollars for Brazilian reis, then he and his mum took me for a tour of Sao Paulo.

Wow. what an amazing city! The traffic was insane, motorcyclists weave between the cars with no fear, and the amount of vehicles was unreal. As expected, the city is HUGE- I can see how it would be easy to get lost.

After grabbing some meat from a butcher, we all headed back to Pe´s house, (its a really cool villa/townhouse style home) for a hearty lunch of rice and beans, then I headed off for a much-needed shower and nap. The house was empty when I woke up, except for the cleaner (who speaks no English). In a hilarious attempt to communicate, using lots of hand gestures funny looks, I finally peiced together a question `onde esta Pedro?´ (where is pedro?) to which she replied ´voltar logo´ (back soon)then we both laughed at the akwardness of our little interaction. If that is a sign of things to come, I really wish I studied my Portuguese more...

Its Pe´s mum´s birthday tonight, so the family has invited me to join them at a Brazilian Steak House called ´Vento Haragano´ (one of the best in the city). Really looking forward to that! So, my first impressions of Brazil are amazing; Pedro and his family has made me feel so welcome. He even bought me a pair of Havannia´s (Brazil´s unofficial national footwear) that say ´Brazil 10´ on the soles! Quite seriously the perfect gift.

Its an overcast day, and it only reached about 18 degrees, but regardless, it feels tropical and I am in bliss.

Beijos x