Saudações do Brazil!

Greetings all!

Hard to believe it's been going on two years since this blog has been updated. Much has changed, and much has stayed the same. Following on my last entry (from 2007), I'm down in the big south, no, not Atlanta this time, but Sao Paulo, Brazil. For those of you who don't know, I'm here for the summer doing pilot research for my anthropology doctorate at UGA. For my research, I'm studying the role of education within a social movement known as the Landless Workers' Movement. That's the one sentence cocktail party version. I'll try to figure out how to upload a document where those interested can get a clearer understanding of what in the world I'm doing traipsing around the Amazon.

First impressions: wow! Sao Paulo is a BIG city. Ok, that's an understatement, it's apparently the biggest city in the Western hemisphere, and I can believe it. Between flying over the waves of skyscrapers to taking an hour and a half public transport voyage involving buses and various metro lines (beat that ATL!), and then walking to the hostel, I've realized that Sao Paulo is a city of superlatives. The hostel I'm staying at is absolutely perfect. I will take some photos, but it's in a quiet neighborhood, near a huge park (my goal for this afternoon), it has an amazing breakfast of fruit and assorted goodies, wifi, friendly service, and all for about $16 USD (so not too bad)...did I mention that there's always a carafe of coffee full? And, no, we're not talking nescafe here.

What additionally was really nice about the trip, was that Sao Paulo is only 1 hour ahead of the east coast, so even though I've had an insane few days of traveling to get here, from driving from ATL to DE, running around, then flying down here etc etc. I'm not in that surreal state of exhaustion that hangs over me for a week when I go to India. In terms of what everyone at home was asking me b4 I left, the Portuguese is going....tudo bem! I feel like my mind is like a sieve (although sometimes it feels like as much is leaving as entering); taking the public transport to the hostel I was reading all the posters and signs, asking directions, and I made it without getting lost (partially due to the detailed instructions I had gotten in English from the hostel prior to traveling!) So, yeah, the trip is off to a great start. I brought my mandolin and was sitting here serenading the unfortunate passerbys earlier as I drank my coffee, after this I'm going to get to "work" translating some questions courtesy of google translate (the most amazing app I've run into recently) and then (fingers crossed) I'm going to call the headquarters of the Landless Workers Movement and try to schedule a meeting for tomorrow (meeting with these people is why I'm in Sao Paulo to begin with, and they don't "do" email, so I wasn't able to organize it from the states). This meeting is a pretty big deal in terms of my research, and so I'll be really happy if I can actually orchestrate it, and get a few questions that I'll have translated answered. Aside from that.....it's time for some "deep hanging out"
Ate logo!
David