Media

Media

By Bobby Neal Winters

At the hotel I stayed at in Rio, when the waiter came to fill up my cup with coffee, he knew I was a foreigner and would always ask, "Media?"  (pronounced meh-jee-a) in order to determine whether I wanted it half full with the other half milk.  This is because Brazilian coffee is strong.

I now approach "media" of my time in South America.  I will be home one week from tomorrow and this makes today effectively half-time.  There are some tentative plans, but there is no big half-time show in the works.  I would like to ride on the Sao Paulo subway, which I hear is clean and safe.  I'd like to kick around aimlessly. buying small items with the idea of improving my Portuguese.  Most of all, I need to rest a little bit because the second half is coming up as I leave for Asuncion in the morning.

Plans are (men make plans and God laughs) that I will meet the rest of the PSU-Paraguay contingent at the Sao Paulo airport tomorrow and we share the same flight to Asuncion.  We then will be together in Asuncion and I can show them the ropes, as it were. I always like to take the group to Shopping del Sol to get pineapple juice and chipa cuartro queso.  It is a great way to get calibrated.  Maybe we will dine at Bolsi? 

In any case, today I will recuperate and ready myself for the second half.

São Paulo novamente

São Paulo novamente

By Bobby Neal Winters

Today a bit after 1pm, I got on the fifth plane that I've been on since Saturday. Ordinarily, I sit silently, trying not to bother my seat-mate.  This trip the rule has been that I've sit by talkers.  Today followed the rule except that the talker was across the aisle from me.  The fellow was originally from Belgium, lived in South Africa for many years, married a Scot, and has moved back to Belgium.

Oh, yeah, and he's executive producer for the World Cup.  At least one of them.

Anyway, he kept me entertained on the flight.

Today, I finish the first quarter of my trip and I passed an important milestone I'd set for myself: Getting from the São Paulo airport to the Tryp São Paulo Paulista Hotel alive.  I took a cab.  I know the taxi Portuguese for this. It is: "Gostaria de ir para Tryp São Paulo Paulista Hotel.  However, the problem comes if the drive responds "Onde?" and wants you to give him the address.  With this very moment in mind, I got some 3 by 5 cards and wrote the address on one of them.

When I got to the airport, I took 300 reals out of the ATM and walked outside.  Much to my delight, I saw a cashiers desk with the word Taxi above it.  I went to them, showed them the card, and they directed me to a cab.  I showed the card to the cab driver, and he drove me to the hotel with Frank Sinatra playing on his stereo all the way here. It cost 126 reals. 

I am in a busy part of town. I am only two blocks off of Paulista street, which is one happening place.  There are two nice sandwich shops right next to the hotel.  Got supper for 18 reals. File mignon sandwich, batatas fritas, and a coke.  There is an ice cream parlor (a big one) across the street and a nice bookstore by it.  I bought an ingles Portugues dictionary.

I also did a bit of exploring. I walked over to Boteco, which is my favorite cafe in SP.  I will try to hit it before I leave, but you have to cross Paulista street to get there and that is a non trivial undertaking. 

I have a long day tomorrow. I will begin rolling to Sorocaba by 7am and have a full day there, getting to renew old aquaintances and create new ones.

Saida Caxias

Saida Caxias

By Bobby Neal Winters

Bob Walter told me this was a great city and he was right.  The area is wonderful.  And I love the campus.  I felt so at home there. I talked to an intercultural relations class on Monday night and had a wonderful time.  They are very curious about the United States. That is the nature of the class.

Yesterday I took part in orientation activities for the international students.  They had a Samba class for them as an ice breaker, but I didn't take part: I can't dance even in English.

Last night, Gustavo Pezzi, former student of mine, took me out for a wonderful dinner. Italian!  Great food, great wine; I ate too much. Again. We talked for hours.  

I am now packed and ready to head out to Porto Alegre and from there to São Paulo. Maybe I will add something to the blog this evening. 

Caxias do Sul

Caxias do Sul

By Bobby Neal Winters
This is my first full day in Caxias do Sul.  (If you are going to have any luck reading this, I need to tell you that Caxias is pronounced Ca-SHEE-us doo soow.  The x is pronounced sh except when it's not; they pronouce do exactly like we do; and l on the end of a word sounds like a w to my ear.)

I am just about as far south in Brazil as you can go.  This is that state of Rio Grande do Sul.  I flew into Porto Alegre and a driver brought me to Caxias.  A student who had been on exchange at PSU last semester and her family took me to the grand finale of the Festa da Uva (grape fesitval) last night.  They have quite an ethnic mix here: Indigenous Americans, Portuguese, Italians, Germans, Poles, and most recently Haitians and Sengalese.

This morning, after a nice breakfast with coffee that would put hair on your peito I went out and street-tested my Portuguese.  They can understand me and--within short boundaries--I can understand them.  I found o Banco do Brasil to use my ATM card.  (I'd tried one of the CAIXA machines to no avail.  They have consistently rejected my car in every city of Brazil, but they are conveniently located.)

My room does not have an air-conditioner, but the weather is pleasant enough that is not an issue.  The Universidade do Caxias do Sul will  pick me up at 1:30 and I will be at it until after 8.  Between now and then, I will go out and get a little lunch.  I might try a place where I bought a Pepsi.  I  "chatted" a bit there in "Portuguese" with an old guy who asked me if I were and American.  I said yes and he said he could tell because I was fat, "gordo." Nothing mean-spirited about it.  Facts are facts.  He was cooking feijoada and it really smelled good.