speaking the language!
December 14, 2006
hey all,
greetings from Sao Paulo! after a grueling flight from Salvador, (we departed at 2:50am and arrived at 6:30am with a one hour time change, and had NO sleep, with a cold airplane, but ample seating) we arrrived dead tired and slept the majority of our first day in Sao Paulo. we were greeted by Sarah`s friend, Tiago, who kindly picked us up and had a room prepared for us with two beds. wonderful...a real bed after 10 days in a hostel. did i mention i slept on my hoodie as a pillow the entire time?
anyways, the city is big...BIG. there are malls everywhere, and the metro system seems to be fairly intuitive. i`ve learned, however, that most Paulistanos drive cars because it is more comfortable, and understandably, more safe. the weather so far has been somewhat muggy, but definitely cooler than Salvador. the rain comes and goes in fat drops.
as i was paying for lunch today, the cashier asked me if i was Brazilian. to which i responded "no...im canadian". as we continued to converse in Portuguese with the man, he had to ask yet again if i was sure if i wasn`t Brazilian...because i spoke good Portuguese. i was then affirmed by Tiago that i actually sound quite authentic in my Portuguese! that was a huge compliment for me... and it`s so sad to think that JUST as i am getting better and more fluent in the language, i must return! just like my spanish in Quito....as i was starting to sound like a Quitena, i left. boo.... perhaps i will continue Portuguese back in Vancouver?
dL
greetings from Sao Paulo! after a grueling flight from Salvador, (we departed at 2:50am and arrived at 6:30am with a one hour time change, and had NO sleep, with a cold airplane, but ample seating) we arrrived dead tired and slept the majority of our first day in Sao Paulo. we were greeted by Sarah`s friend, Tiago, who kindly picked us up and had a room prepared for us with two beds. wonderful...a real bed after 10 days in a hostel. did i mention i slept on my hoodie as a pillow the entire time?
anyways, the city is big...BIG. there are malls everywhere, and the metro system seems to be fairly intuitive. i`ve learned, however, that most Paulistanos drive cars because it is more comfortable, and understandably, more safe. the weather so far has been somewhat muggy, but definitely cooler than Salvador. the rain comes and goes in fat drops.
as i was paying for lunch today, the cashier asked me if i was Brazilian. to which i responded "no...im canadian". as we continued to converse in Portuguese with the man, he had to ask yet again if i was sure if i wasn`t Brazilian...because i spoke good Portuguese. i was then affirmed by Tiago that i actually sound quite authentic in my Portuguese! that was a huge compliment for me... and it`s so sad to think that JUST as i am getting better and more fluent in the language, i must return! just like my spanish in Quito....as i was starting to sound like a Quitena, i left. boo.... perhaps i will continue Portuguese back in Vancouver?
dL
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