Saturday, March 27, 2004
Back In Bwazeew!
They actually pronounce it that way here! It´s nice to be back here! I missed the color, the flavor, the chaos, and the contrasts. Sao Paolo is bursting with life, bold postmodern buildings everywhere reflect tropical flora and rushing traffic on Avenida Paulista, where my hotel and the bank are located.
I strolled through hilly, sloping Trianon gardens, a lush green haven in the midst of the hubbub where thick green vegetation filters out the noise, children play, young lovers make out, and friends talk heart-to-heart. Outside the gate, a vendor turns coconuts into giant take-out drinks by punching a hole and inserting a straw. I visited MASP, Sao Paolo´s beautifully designed and endowed museum, a red and grey rectangle on cement stilts, and enjoyed its small but impressive collection of French Impressionists, other European artists, and Brazilian 20th century art.
Fingerprinted at the airport and subjected to a 2 hour immigration line, Americans are paying here for Bush´s decision to do the same to South Americans. Brazilians have pride and stand up for it. I was sad when one Argentine youth complained loudly about the line, and the immigration guards decided, as a lesson, not to let him into the country.. Someone asked "Don´t we have freedom of speech here?" and the reply was "Not on this line, you don´t!" I was sure glad I had eaten breakfast on the plane, and brought music to while away the time. Lunch was thin steak filet with rice, veggies, and "farofa," which is basically mandioc flour fried with sundry ingredients. Very filling. That´s all for now. Will probably make it an early night, since I´m getting up at 6am tomorrow to go to Brasilia for the day! Chauzinho!
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