It's been a little more than a week since I posted and the last of my sunburn from the trip to the beach is finally peeling off my back. I can leave the apartment in shorts now without a crippling fear of adding a second layer of burn to my bright red legs. Things are looking up in Brasil. 

As I left off I was heading out to  enjoy some of activities to commemorate São Paulo's anniversary. It was considered a city holiday so classes were cancelled and nearly everyone in the city had the day off from work. There were tons of events going on throughout the entire city, most of which were free. In the morning I headed to the Museum of Image and Sound where there was a new photography exhibit of varying perspectives of the city. Afterwards we headed to a place off of Paulista to try a black dog: two hot dogs, mashed potatoes, tomato, mayonnaise, corn and cheese. Pure genius. Paulistanos know how to make a dog.

After a quick subway ride - which, I'm sure, only seemed quick due to my food induced comatose - we went to Parque da Juventude (Park of the Youth) for a concert. The park was constructed on the plot of an old prison that was demolished in 2002, Carandiru. Now the area is home to a public park, a prestigious high school and a museum for the prison.

Later on that week we took a trip to the Football Museum at the Municipal Stadium in Pacaembu, home to the best soccer team in the city, Corinthian Football Club. You can probably already ascertain the bias I've received from my host family. Everyone in the city has a team and, whether or not they actually enjoy watching the game, are willing to strike up a verbal brawl to defend their allegiance. I went to a game later on in the week and the experience was awesome. At this stage in the season Brazilian teams are in exhibition phase but the crowd couldn't care less. Nobody sits down for the game and everyone follows along to the team's chants. Most importantly, that day I significantly beefed up my Brazilian vernacular after listening to the crowd's jeers directed towards the ref.


That weekend some of the students headed to the beach in Guarujá about an hour's bus ride from the city. Before leaving, I kept hearing from various Brazilians about how the beaches there aren't all too great and that you really have to travel up to the state's northern coast to get the true, Brazilian beach experience. Maybe this is my low expectations talking, being from a state with no access to the beach, but when we got there, the it seemed pretty fantastic to me. 


The scenery was amazing and the water was perfect. Another awesome element of the Brazilian beach experience is the food stands. When we first walked towards the beach, people working at the stands brought out folding chairs and umbrellas for us to use for the day. Unofficially, each vendor has their own section of the beach and provides the chairs to beachgoers with the understanding that they will buy only from that stand. In theory, you could go to the beach and never get up all day because there's a constant flow of people asking you if you want drinks, ice cream, fish, coconut, or pasteis. The only downside of my day at the beach was the massive patches of sunburn I gathered on top of my Iowa winter tan. 


Back in São Paulo, I had another busy week of Portuguese language and Brazilian culture classes with the study abroad center. We took a side trip to the Museu de Arte de São Pauo on Paulista. Currently they're showing an exhibit on ancient Rome. Definitely going back to take a second look. Then this weekend I went on a bike ride with Roberto all around the city. Some highlights: Parque Villa Lobos, Universidade de São Paulo, Parque Ibirapuera. I've been adding up the distances of all of my runs, bikes and walks and as of this weekend I've gone a total of 138 kilometers. By the time I get back to the States I'll be a machine.