First Full Day in Sao Paulo

Our first full day in Brazil started off slowly. We woke up late because our bodies were adjusting to the time change and we had not slept a full night's sleep since the night before we left LAX. I slept 13 hours, and we slowly rolled out of bed and walked from the hotel to the hostel we found online. It took us a while to get to the hostel since it's a bit far (maybe 2 miles? I don't know, I suck at estimating), but we finally arrived at Hostel Okupe. We got 2 beds for 2 nights plus a R$20 deposit (which we get back when we leave, as long as we return the linens) for a total of R$156. Thats the equivalent of about 80 U.S. dollars. Not bad for two nights for two people, right? After we dropped our stuff off at the hostel, we walked to Parque Ibirapuera where we walked around for a while. On the way there we stopped to buy a big water bottle and two pieces of pizza. Brazilian pizza is really different from what we're used to, but it's really good. We also ate the rest of the trail mix that Ben and Jullie gave us when we left LA.

We got to the park after more walking and found a nice sculpture garden, so we took lots of pictures. We also took a bunch of pictures of the buildings because they were really cool. One of them looked like a giant igloo! Then we went into the art museum which had two exhibits: one was modern art and the other was an exhibit on Roberto Burle Marx. The modern art was really cool and sometimes funny, and Marx's exhibit was really interesting too since he did lots of different kinds of art including tapestries, jewelry, paintings, and architectural designs. We spent a good hour in there and it was definitely worth the R$2.50 that it cost each of us to get in. We left the museum and followed the sound of drums to a student performance group practicing by the street. I sneaked a few pictures of them without asking and also took some pictures of the obelisk across the street, then we headed to the lake where we tried to take artsy pictures (I was inspired by the museum) and tried to scare ducks. The ducks in the park were really creepy though because we would get really close to them and they would just stand there and quack at us and they were also really big so we chickened out and left them alone. We left the park as the sun set and walked towards another big monument to some explorers. There was a man on top of the monument, so we climbed up too (probably not allowed) and took pictures of the city since the view was so good. While climbing down we almost died, and then headed back to the hostel.

We got kind of lost and circled around the freeway and ended up being forced to cross these extremely busy streets, again almost dying in the process. After figuring out where we were, we pulled out our trusty umbrellas and kept walking but the rain just kept getting stronger and stronger, puddles got deeper and deeper, and thunder got louder and louder. Eventually, the water running through the street and sidewalk was so deep that we would step forward and have water up to our ankles, and even in the shallow areas our umbrellas did not protect our legs, sleeves, or shoes. I have never experienced rain like that. We realized that the rain made walking too miserable, so we went into a small streetside restaurant and ordered 2 cheeseburgers with egg and 2 orders of fries. The owner looked at us with sympathy and quickly brought out our dinner, and it was so delicious. We got guarana soda (for the first time) too, which basically tastes like carbonated happiness. It's the best thing since sriracha and carne asada fries! As we finished eating, the rain suddenly stopped, and we saw all these people start coming out of shops and restaurants and we realized that when it pours people don't keep walking, they find shelter. We felt really dumb. But we learned our lesson... the hard way.

So far on this trip, we seem to be learning lessons the hard way. Now we know not to keep walking when it rains because the streets turn into rivers and umbrellas don't protect you that much. We also learned in Mexico that metro workers rip you off so we should check the prices every time. Even though we need to go through seemingly negative experiences, it still seems fun. I'm really loving this trip even when stuff like this happens. My dad told me before I left, "There is no way that you can go 8 weeks without some bad stuff happening to you, so when it does happen you take it in and make the best of it," and he was right. There have been some negative things that have happened, but we've been able to really let it go and have fun instead of stressing about the little things.

If anyone is reading this, please pray for our trip, our safety, and our growth. Obrigado.