There is a lot of graffiti and street art in S.P.

On an afternoon of one of our orientation days we had a tour of São Paulo by bus during which we got to get out and explore a lot.  First we went to the plaza in the main city center and visited the Catedral Metropolitana.  I couldn't get over how beautiful the weather was - it was hot and sunny and it felt good to sweat instead of shiver.

For lunch we visited the Mercado Municipal which is a huge gathering places for produce vendors and customers alike to gather and shop or eat.  The colorful mounds of fruit were incredible and so was the amount and variety of fish and meat.  The two most famous things to try at that particular market are a bologna sandwich (Mortadela sandwich) and a fish pastry.  I had the Mortadela sandwich which was stacked with loads of meat; I'm very glad that I ended up sharing it with someone else.  A popular drink to try at the market is a fresh fruit smoothie made out of any combination you can imagine.





After lunch we had the choice of visiting the Portuguese Language Museum or an art museum.  I chose to visit the language museum and loved it.  My only regret was that I can't really speak the language yet so I missed out on a lot.  There was a lot of history and linguistic background which was easy to understand and super interesting but the visit ended with a creative/trippy spoken word and visual digital poetry display during which I was completely lost. 



One thing I like about this group of people is that everyone makes it a point to meet each other and spend some time to get to know one another.  For example, between sites when we were on the bus, we always sat with a different person.  In this way we were all able to spend quality time hearing about all of the experiences in more detail rather than just an icebreaker conversation.



For dinner we were on our own and all the memories of learning Spanish and attempting to communicate in Chinese came rushing back as we awkwardly tried to order without making a scene at a local bakery.  It's a constant real and valuable reminder that feeling embarrassed, vulnerable, dumb and incompetent is sometimes part of the language-learning process and a feeling that my Brazilian students will probably experience in my classes as well. 

Pointing to my placement

 
Today is when the fun really began.  Like I've said before on this blog, I really like orientations of any kind but there is always a certain intimidation factor.  At times it feels like we're all in a dog park with lots of sizing-up, butt-sniffing and tail wagging - I can already tell you who the Dobermans and Golden Retrievers are.  I am seriously fascinated with the other 29 participants and I wish I could have 30 minutes with everyone to hear their story and how they got here.  Fortunately, everyone else is just as curious and we basically spend lots of awkward conversations asking repeated questions like, "Where are you from?", "Where is your placement?" and "What did you do before this?" all while trying to maintain a cool and confident demeanor.

Schedule of talking points for the first session

Close-up of Ilhéus, BA

My partner, Loni

The other Fulbrighters are from all over but most of them are from California and the big cities on the East Coast with a handful from the Midwest thrown in to keep things real.  I've had a person say to me, "You went to school in Ohio? That must have been very country."  The age range is from 23 - 31 (Yep, I'm the oldest) but you wouldn't know that there is such a disparity; everyone acts like they are around 25.  About half of the group already has some kind of Master's degree in subjects ranging from education, language, anthropology, economics, sociology and political science.  Lots of brief life histories that I heard included programs like Peace Corps, JET, AmeriCorps, Teach for America and internships in some area of government.  Everyone has studied and/or taught abroad in multiple countries and continents and it has been both overwhelming and inspiring to hear their stories.  Most participants  seems to be very motivated and have clear goals for the future including more graduate school, working for the CIA/FBI, working for the State Department and getting involved with particular NGOs in Washington D.C.  Like I said, these guys aren't wasting any time with their life plans.

Today during orientation we spent the morning in some meetings talking about the grant and in the afternoon we took a field trip to some touristy places in the city.  Here's a few things that we talked about:

What is Fulbright and why are you here?

The Fulbright program is 67 years old and was started after WWII by Senator Fulbright to promote student cultural exchange.  The first program was with Germany and was quickly expanded to other countries in Europe and reached South America in the mid 50s.  Now there are 150 programs worldwide which send Americans abroad and bring foreigners to the States to teach, study and do research.

Who's paying for this?

The U.S. government (State Department) and the government of Brazil (the Commission and the Ministry of Education).

Where are you placed and why?

Although we got some preferences about where we wanted to be, we were matched with participating institutions based on our skills and experiences.

Where will you live?

We have to find our own accommodation which usually means renting an apartment near campus. We can live alone, share with the other grant participant, or share with any willing Brazilian student.

What will you do?

There are two kinds of Fulbright grants: ETA (English Teaching Assistantship) and Study/Research.  I have an ETA which means that I work with a university to help improve their English education program.  This includes teaching some English classes, providing monthly inservices to local teachers, holding office hours and setting up monthly cultural events/lectures.  We also have the opportunity to study Portuguese and are required to do an additional side project of our choice in the community.

What's your schedule?

The university calendar in Brazil begins around March and the first semester runs through June.  There is a month off between semesters during which we spend one week participating in a mid-year seminar in the capitol, Brasilia, with all the other Fulbrighters.  Then the second semester runs from October to November.  My official grant end date is November 24.  

The whole group - our director and her assistant are in front

A girl with long auburn hair leaned over across the row while waiting in the Detroit airport and whispered, "Excuse me, are you Sarah Sanderson?"  Turns out the girl was a fellow Fulbrighter on the way to Brazil just like I was.  She had seen the list of flights and participants and admitted to doing a little Facebook stalking to make sure she knew what I looked like. I was so glad she did as it was fun to have someone to travel with on the way to Sāo Paulo.

Eleven hours and four movies later we landed in the steamy South American mega city and began the long immigration process.  Though we landed at 8:30, we didn't make it through customs and immigration until about noon.  We found our bus, bought some tickets and began the two hour commute to our hotel in the middle of downtown.

It's official - Also, Go Bucks!

My first impressions of Sāo Paulo were that it was colorful, hectic, hot, fashionable and sprawling. So far I have been very impressed with the organization of the Fulbright program in Brazil.  Everything has been very organized, detailed and structured and communication is prompt.  We were met at our hotel by the commission and given a folder for the week with name tags, notebooks, pens and schedules along with an envelope with an additional cash stipend.

Today was a free day since everyone was arriving at different times and most of us spent the time napping, getting organized and walking around a bit.  I am sharing a room with Loni, the other girl who will be in Ilhéus with me.  She is 25 and is from Nebraska.  She spent the last three years teaching in Mexico and hopes to do the Peace Corps after this program.

View from the little balcony in our room

I was surprised to find that here in Sāo Paolo, most people aren't really keen to speak any English.  I also quickly found out that knowing only Spanish isn't really enough to get by.  Fortunately for me, Loni can speak quite a bit of Portuguese which has helped me out a lot.  I guess it's time to hit the books a bit harder in the upcoming days and weeks.

The old district of Sydney is right on the harbor and is called "The Rocks."  The Rocks is one of the areas where the colony first developed.  We took another free tour by our favorite guide, Justine, who did a great job.  This tour was full of stories of murders, disappearances and general mayhem that was common in The Rocks in the 1800s.  Justine pointed out what the old sandstone buildings originally were (now they are tourist shops, restaurants, hotels and bars) and took us through tiny alleys and over old cobblestone streets.

Our guide, Justine, in front of the most popular spot for wedding photography in Sydney - in front of its oldest house.

One of the oldest bars in The Rocks

Though The Rocks used to be known as a dangerous slum as it was the initial contact point for sailors to party and meet with prostitutes, now it is a happening center for tourism and the arts.  This is all thanks to a committee of locals who saved most of the buildings from being demolished by the government around the time of the plague.  Now there are weekly markets and an interesting event called "Weird Fridays" during which you can pop into anything from theater performances, magic shows and masked parties all for free.

Another of the oldest bars in The Rocks

View of the harbor from up on a hill

 Since Sean and I did the tour on a Friday, we stuck around for the evening markets and cultural oddities.  One bar's ploy to intrigue customers was to advertise to "follow the rabbit" and there were various white footprints all over the place.  But upon finding the secret venue, one immediately learned that they needed a rabbit mask to enter which sent everyone on another search . . . I've never seen anything quite like it!

Walking around during "Weird Fridays" - Notice the people who have already found their masks

Following the rabbit feet . . .

Exploring the night market

Nice beard, Sean

While one has to take a ferry to get to Manly Beach from the CBD, Bondi Beach is just a short bus ride away.  On our bus was a mixed bag of Sydneysiders.  There were business men in suits reading the paper all the way to board-shorted and bikini-clad youth hugging surfboards.  Since it was obvious who was heading to the water, it wasn't hard at all to tell when to hop off the bus for the best beach access.



Bondi Beach is a famous stretch of beach about 1km long - the name also refers to the suburb surrounding it.  There were areas for surfing, swimming and plenty of room to sunbathe.  Though the north end is safer for swimming, most tourists simply head straight from the bus stop down to the water and usually get stuck in a well-known and aptly named riptide called the "Backpackers Express".






Sean and I did not swim but instead had a picnic lunch and then headed out to the walking trails that lead from Bondi Beach to several other beaches along the way.  We were told that it's common to see whales and dolphins though we didn't have any luck ourselves.  Maybe next time.

Along with being fortunate enough to be in Melbourne during the Cup, Sean and I were also lucky enough to meet Prince Charles and Camilla in Sydney.  We had planned to visit the old town in the morning and then head to Bondi Beach which turned out to be about the same schedule as the royalty.  We saw the motorcade everywhere we went!



Prince Charles was on his way to the art museum when we happened to see him.  Crowds of people were waiting outside the museum and the weather was pretty steamy.  One lady passed out because she got so hot and excited.  Paramedics had to be called.  It was quite a scene.

Bondi Beach - Yep, a few minutes after this picture it started storming and downpouring

Charles shook hands and was quite jolly though he asked obvious questions like, "How is it back there [in the crowd]? Hot?"  Though I was right in front, at times it was hard to see him because of everyone reaching their arms/hands/phones around and in front of me.  Everyone was so excited and a bit frantic and chaotic.  Sean didn't care one way or another and waited in the back of the crowd.

Waiting for the royal rugby

Police horses!

They stole the show

 Later in the afternoon we spotted the couple at Bondi Beach where they watched a special beach rugby game held just for them.  I was more interested in watching all of the police mounted on impressive looking horses - they would even let you pose for pictures with them!

Getting ready to film the game

The really cool thing about Sydney is that one minute you can be in a busy city and a thirty minute ferry ride later you can be on a beach.  The first beach we visited was Manly Beach and the ferry ride was a tour in itself.  On the way to the beach we had awesome views of the harbor and even better views of the opera house.





 At Manly Beach there were people playing volleyball, multiple surf schools and lots of others sunbathing.  The beach was huge and around it were lots of plazas, restaurants and shopping. It made for a fun afternoon of walking around, watching sports and soaking up the sun on the sand.



 Although there was a mix of locals and tourists on the ferry, it was very easy to tell who was visiting by the amount of time they stared at the opera house.  But who could blame them? The Sydney opera house is stunning in design and definitely commands the skyline.  We all couldn't take our eyes off of it.  What I thought was interesting was that the shells on the opera house look much different up close than from far away.  From a distance they appear uniform in color but up close you see that they are actually a mix of whitish, creamy and tan (or maybe they were just dirty) tiles with a subtle pattern.  I couldn't stop looking at the opera house - it was so cool!  And, as evidenced in this post, I couldn't stop taking pictures of it either.