Just put another slab on it Jefferson

So who the hell planned São Paulo? The reality is...NO ONE. A bunch of Coffee Barons got mega rich back in the 19th century and the bankers, lawyers, accountants, and later schemers, cheats, and crack addicts showed up (probably some overlap there)...everyone with big ideas (or delusions) of grandeur fleeting through their caffeine addled craniums and thusly.... I present to you São Paulo. It's like LA after New York through up on it and took beauty advice from Pittsburgh or Detroit. Who'd a thought that a small jesuit village would of turned out like this?? Lord have Mercy on São Paulo.

I arrived here a week ago with Deborah and our friend Josiane. I decided to skip Curitiba in favor of being in this gargantuan city with friends and local contacts. I think it's been a fair trade as we all had a good time together last weekend. The weather was also very sunny which apparently is rare for Sampa. Things have gotton back to normal (ie Schitzo) in the last few days as it rains off and on. I am looking forward to getting some sun in the Northeast region, where I'll be going on the 27th.

Luckily enough, my Rio friend Rodrigo lives here now. We've hung out a lot and shared some good stories over beer and we checked out an Art exhibit by a Brazilian artist who uses garbage as his medium (he's probably from SP). Today I rode around in his car while he went around town for job interviews as an english instructor. The traffic was horrendus but it was worth it as I got to see different parts of the city and he was hired by his preferred prospectful employer. He told me that there were some illegal gringos working there. If São Paulo wasn't so damned overcrowded and unlivable..who knows...maybe I'd consider teaching?!

Before I leave there are some places I want to check out and some people I hope to meet. I'll make sure to plan ahead for traffic.

and the countdown begins...

So after just under 3 months.....my departure date from the Ilha da Magia has been set for the monday following easter. I will catch an early morning bus for Curitiba, the capital of Parana state (which is the next one up to the north before São Paulo). I was in this state briefly when I visited Iguaçu. There I will stay for 4 nights before continuing to Sampa. My plan is to stay in this clusterf@!# of concrete for 9 more nights (you know to really soak in the vibe). Every night should offer some sort of option. I intend to have a fruffy drink at the top of a skyscraper, eat a mortadella sandwhich at the central market (made famous by Anthony Bordain) and not get mugged. On April 27th I will fly to the Northeast region and begin my journey in the city of Recife before heading south eventually to the colonial Salvador da Bahia, which was the original capitol during the Portuguese rule. In between I hope to make some more progress with my portuguese and some more friends too. Although this is going to be tough as I'll be on the road alone again..something that I am not exactly looking forward to but also something that is necessary as I have been in one place for the right amount of time (especially considering that my visa time limit was cut short unexpectedly) .

My time in Florianópolis has been amazing. I met a lot of great people, saw a lot of wonderful sights, and had many amazing experiences. I was able to improve my portuguese quite a bit but the reality of how deep the language goes (or any language for that matter) is setting in. I am at a point in my development where my progress doesn't exactly occur in leaps and bounds (like it did in the beginning). I also have some days where it is extremely difficult to communicate, but somehow I manage. I really love Brasil and something tells me this will not be my last time here, so the progress shall continue. I am glad that I decided to add 5 weeks to my itinerary here as the high season has ended and the weather has been consistantly sunny for the past 3 weeks! Autumn is fast approaching however, and its time to get a little closer to the equator. I'll keep you posted as things progress..

A gente se fala!