getting to know Sao Paulo

I'm back with more news and, more importantly, more pictures!
Last weekend was pretty eventful. On Saturday the group divided into groups of 15 and explored the city. We each had a different cultural attraction to visit, and we had to use our maps and bus schedules to figure out how to get there. After, we were slated to visit one of the Sao Paulo samba schools to see them rehearse their parade routine. I unfortunately had gotten lost with two of the other guys on the program the day before.

On Friday, Graham, Brandon and I went to Vila Mariana to try to find a theatre Brandon knew of that had wacky art films, but we had trouble getting there and once we did, we were informed that they had no shows until the 18th. They recommended we try the Museu Lasar Segall. When they said it, I couldn't understand what the part after "museu" was, and neither of the others understood the word, either. So when we finally got there after getting lost for another hour, I was very pleasantly surprised. Lasar Segall was one of Brazil's early modernists who I've studied a bit. The museum didn't have any more shows for the night, but the exhibits were free so we wandered though. It was great. The museum was built in his house, and they had all kinds of his paints and equipment and his library on display. They had a great variety of his work, including a bunch of plans and designs for decorative exhibits he had done for various museums for Carnaval. They were really interesting. I liked them a lot. I had no idea he did more decorative work, or that he sculpted as much as he apparently did. I learned a lot and had a great time. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera.

Anyway, after at least four hours of wandering around lost, my legs weren't really interested in functioning correctly. I ducked out of Saturday's activities after visiting the Casa das Rosas, an old colonial style house with fantastic gardens and cultural exhibits. I took the Metro home and, after getting off at the right stop, went through the wrong exit and had no idea where I was. I knew vaguely where my neighborhood was in relation to the downtown area--or thought I did. After I got home, I pulled out my map and found out I was wrong. I tried walk in the right direction in relation to the street signs pointing to the central area. Eventually I ended up on a street called Bela Cintra, which had signs pointing to various neighborhoods including Higienopolis. So I walked and walked and walked and eventually figured out where I was by going past a shopping mall a good 15 blocks or so from my house. I got back ok and slept for a year.

Sunday we went on more cultural excursions. We had a tour of the historic downtown area of Sao Paulo. We all met at the church of Sao Bento, which is right off the metro. It's giant and has authentic Gregorian chant every Sunday mass at 10. The interior of the church is incredible. There's no tacky-beautiful Retablo, but there's more than enough gold and marble and impressive sculpture all over everything else. I want to go back and take pictures of the inside when it's not so crowded.


We visited the first building built in Sao Paulo, a Jesuit church/school I believe. The architecture down there is all very old or done in an old style, with some really amazing ironwork and sculpture around the windows and doors. I took a ton of pictures.


A big spike covered in sculpture that marks the place Sao Paulo was founded. It's in a big open square right in front of the first building in Sao Paulo. I didn't take a picture because I thought the building was kind of boring and I was crabby and hot. I took a picture of this because I thought at first that the bird was part of the sculpture. Apparently not. The sculptures show the various interactions between the Jesuit missionaries and the indigenous people of Brazil. I don't think there's anyone getting eaten, which is really too bad.


Here's the spectacular view from the courtyard behind the first building. I keep taking all these pictures trying to show how big Sao Paulo is and it just never seems to work right. This place is overwhelming.




This was a giant peach building on the street next to the first building. I don't know why it fascinated me so much. Probably a combination of the lions, the ironwork, and the odd color.


This is a window on the corner of a building right across from the monument above. The windows all had crazy heads like this, it was great.


A shot of the alley behind the peach building. I thought it was very Brazil. Majestic old buildings starting to decay, lots of ironwork, graffiti, and the urban poor hiding from the sun under tarps. Things to be proud of, things to tolerate, and things to pretend we don't see.

Next we went to a stock exchange or something, I have no idea. After that we went to a building called the Torre Banespa, which is modeled after the Empire State Building. We went all the way to the top and took pictures. I tried a movie to again attempt to show how huge this place is.


I kept taking pictures of interesting ironwork or architecture instead of the stuff we were there to see. This is a cool building right across from the Torre Banespa.



After our tour, they took us to eat in Liberdade, the Japanese neighborhood. We went to a comida por kilo buffet (just what it sounds like; you pay a certain price per kilo of food you take) which was fantastic. There's amazing graffiti everywhere, but the stuff in and near Liberdade is particularly bizarre. Here's two shots.



Most of the week has been spent sulking because I don't get along with most of the kids here and moodily nursing my awful sunburn. Thursday I went exploring Liberdade by myself and met some really nice Brazilians my age in a book store. Last night I went out with a friend, Zach, who's going to be staying in Curitiba. He introduced me to some of his Brazilian friends here in Sao Paulo. We went to two really interesting bars. On the way, we drove through a less savory area and I saw my first prostitutes. It was surreal and really scary, not just shocking; for some reason I was reminded of watching Erin and Mike play Silent Hill. I don't know what it was.
One bar was in Liberdade and looked like Quentin Tarantino decorated it. They had a lot of Japanese-style seating and gaudy bizarre decorations hanging from the ceiling. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a table. We drove to another that was around 50 years old. They had meats, cheeses, and bottles of wine and brandy and stuff hanging from the ceiling, and really old antique-looking cabinets with more brown bottles behind the bar. Caio, one of the Brazilians, said that the decorations have been there as long as the bar has been. It was a really neat place. I didn't have my camera, unfortunately.
We're going out again tonight. I can't wait to see what kind of bizarre place Caio comes up with next.

Here are some more miscellaneous pictures!


A giant mural in the Se Metro station.



The courtyard inside the Predio Velho, or Old Building, on the PUC campus. The Predio Velho is the giant pink thing you see on the PUC site or when you google it.


The second floor of White Rabbit, an internet cafe close to PUC that all the CIEE students use. The guy in the foreground is Graham.


White Rabbit again, second floor but a different room. Every internet cafe has something like this.
Zeny plz. Itens plz. D: