After community building we all decided we needed to have some fun. Since Sunday, when we arrived in Sao Paulo, none of us had gone out and gotten together as a group. So we decided to meet in Villa Magdalena, a very hip bohemian neighborhood in Sao Paulo. Caro, our host sister, was nice enough to drive us there along with her bf, Gabriel. They both recommended this bar called Empanadas Bar which served the most delicious empanadas I have ever tried. They were not the typical Mexican empanadas I was used to, instead these empanadas were filled with ground beef, chicken, potatoes, and other vegetables (more like pot pockets if you will hehe). Very good! We also tried some typical Brazilian drinks, at least according to our host sister. We had what they called "Batidas" which were basically like milkshakes with a little something extra. I also noticed that they like to mix condensed milk in with their alcohol... like with wine or vodka (interesting). And needless to say, almost at every bar, on every TV monitor, there was a soccer game playing. Welcome to South America where people live, eat, and breathe soccer. =)
Friday after our morning class we were sent off to visit several NGOs with a focus on women's health. My group went to visit Promotoras Legais Populares (Popular Legal Promoters). This was a feminist organization run in order to lobby for public policies as well as to educate and support women in their local communities. Heath promoters, or "promotoras" as they are called here in Brasil, have been involved with many issues including sexual violence, labor rights, health, racism, and sexual/reproductive rights. We talked to Amelinha who was a women rights activist since the early 70s. She was very excited to talk to us about all the advancements Brasil has had in women's rights. One of her proudest memories was when she pushed the Brazilian government to implement a policy on criminalizing sexual abusers. Because of her work with sexual violence, a new law has been implemented in Brasil allowing for the imprisonment of sexual abusers. She is also very proud having a female Brazilian president, Dilma. She believes that without her work as a feminist, Dilma wouldn't even have been allowed to run for the position, let alone win the election. It was very empowering to see how passionate Amelinha was about these topics and I was really glad that she was willing to share all her stories with us (Amelinha is the one next to me in the picture below).
Saturday morning came and I didn't know what to do with all of my free time. I was so used to having my schedule planned out for me each day that the freedom was killing me. But I eventually got off my tushy and had a pretty productive day. After breakfast I went to the gym with Caro and ran on the treadmill for 40 min. It felt great to be physically active, especially after a week of sitting in classes all day. Then since I was sweating bullets I came back home and took a shower before heading to the feira. Lauren (my roommate) and I, had been planning on going to the Feira du Praça da Republique, which is a handicrafts market near our apartment. It was actually a lot of fun, we got to see a lot of interesting things and before leaving we met a vendor from South Africa. Luckily for us he spoke English and after talking to him for a while we found out he was a tour guide too! He gave us his business card and wished us the best of luck on our upcoming travels (esp to South Africa).
After the feira, we took a tour of the Universidade de Sao Paulo with Caro and Gabriel. The campus was huge, but I mean gi-nourmous! Probably the size of an entire town or two. USP is a public university here in the city but despite that it is very prestigious, not every one who applies gets accepted. USP teaches and offers degrees for every possible field of study ranging from engineering to teaching and even marine biology. Each department has its own building, which might give you a better understanding of the size of the school. You need a car or public transportation to get from one place to another. Below is a picture we took in front of a very famous monument on campus.
Finally on Sunday we ended our first weekend in Brazil the way all locals end their weekend... by going to a soccer game! In the morning I woke up early to buy my ticket for the game. Mind you that this was my first time traveling alone in the city and the first time I would have to maneuver the metro system to get to my destination. But I did it! And not only was I able to get there but I also manged to make everyone else think I was Brazilian. I knew this because at almost every transfer point on the metro I had people come up to me and ask for directions in Portuguese. After buying my ticket I came back home to accompany my host mom and sister to the market. It was amazing! Soooo many fruits and veggies everywhere. Apparently most people here in Sao Paulo buy their groceries at local markets instead of at supermarkets or grocery stores. My new favorite exotic fruit is carambola (a.k.a. starfruit). Our host mom made juice from it and it was delicious! We also got to eat the actual fruit (like an apple) after our dinner on Sunday.
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After the market, we headed to the soccer game. The team we were rooting for was called the Corinthians (black and white were their team colors). We were told that if we wore either green or red we would not be let into the park. And later I found out that this was because of a big rivalry between the Corinthians and the other Sao Paulo team, kinda like the Cubs and the White Sox. The fans here were of course very dedicated and although the game ended in a tie, fans were still chanting and cheering for their home team. Most surprisingly and awesome, were the banners they created and held up during the game (see below). We got the chance to hold one up as well. It was a lot of fun, and it was a nice time to get out of the sun too hehe.
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