Day 4 and Day 5

Flashback:

I keep on thinking about Korean BBQ. This is a picture of Chris and I. Chris is vegetarian.




Day 3:

Guillermo and I walked around and just sat for the first time in a while. We sat in this plaza by the Museum of Art of Sao Paulo (MASP) and walked through this dope park.








Day 4: Thursday, July 20, 2006

Wow. I’m exhausted. Days have been so long. It’s 7 pm right now and I just got back from a day of adventuring. I’ve done a lot this past week and come to some quick realizations about what the deal is here in Sao Paulo. First of all, there is little to no support from both UCLA and/or the University here in Sao Paulo. There is still the option to go to the city of Campinas and do an internship with the University out there. Thinking about it, I’ve decided it’s not really an idea I’m too fond of. Thinking about spending another week familiarizing myself with a city does not sound like something I’d be too interested in. So for now, I’ve decided to make Sao Paulo work. Basically, I’m going to start looking for a permanent place to live. G-Mo, is on the same plane…I think.

So, to reiterate, I’m staying in Sao Paulo and continuing with the plan to do my own research/investigating.

Quick cool thing to note. Sao Paulo has a grip of cultural planning that’s free. I have a laundry list of things I want to do. Galleries, museums, photo exhibits, live music, etc. The city is amazing and they have everything, from food, to clothing, to graffiti. Today blew me away. We went to the neighborhood of Vila Madalena and cruised around. The line was at the end of the green line, which was about 4 stops from Avenida Paulista, which is the main shopping/financial/cultural drag in S.P. So, Vila Madalena is total upscale/bohemian. Bars, furniture shops, really nicely put together stores and houses. Architecture was pretty fresh. The best stuff had to do with a mural project that was done fairly recently. Some old cat I asked said that it was done within the past year. 100 murals through this back street, done by local artists. Check the pictures to see what I was talking about. Another nerdy planning thing that I noticed was the dope feeder buses that shuttled people to and from the metro stop. Okay, anyway, check the pics. I’ll post again soon. Also, thinking about planning a weekend trip to the beach. Peace.

Tchau, tchau.

Marcel









Day 5: July 21, Friday.

I just got out of portuguese class and while all of my classmates are going to have lunch, I figured I didn't deserve any until I sent out some crucial emails, made some important phone calls and of course update this blog. I'm still living in the Hotel Concorde, which is far from luxurious, but definitely has its own charm. Specifically Jose, the counter guy/bartender. He's a little rough around the edges, but definitely cool. Most brasilians are. I'm going to begin looking for a place today. I am hopefully going to meet up with Tequinho, whom is a childhood friend of my cousin Edgar in Brasilia, and talk about moving in together. It would be a tremendous relief moving him with him, cause I trust him, and he can deal with negotiating and getting a fair price. I also have spoken with another Edgar connection, living here in Sao Paulo. Her name is Fabiola, and we're possibly going to meet up tomorrow to have a beer or coffee. Not sure yet.

Sidenote. Yesterday when I went to Vila Madalena to walk around we went into a trendy shop that sold t-shirts, jeans, etc....They wanted $80 U.S. dollars for a pair of slip on checkered vans. Crazy.