boa noite!

I don't know exactly how to describe the last two weeks, but I'm going to try. Life in São Paulo has been incredible. I arrived at my new apartment around midday on Saturday, July 31 and haven't stopped going since. The building is lovely, and the space even better once I was able to unpack everything and put away the suitcases a week later. I'll post pictures soon!

On Sunday (August 1), the expats got on a bus with our principals and superintendent for a trip out of the city to a village called Embu, where there is a market every Sunday selling everything you can imagine. We were looking for things for our apartments. Most of the other teachers had been in the city for four or five days, so they knew of some things they wanted. I'd only been in town for about 24 hours, so I was not prepared to purchase any furniture! I did buy a lamp for my bedside, however, along with a colorful rug and a couple pictures from a local artist. Maggie and I were even able to negotiate the price on the pictures - pretty good for the second day!
One of the best things about my new life is the people I've met. Getting to know the other foreign teachers has been wonderful, and a few of us have already formed a fairly close bond. There's some Aussies, a Brit, and several Americans, though this isn't the first international teaching job for many of them. It made me feel fairly intimidated in the beginning, but not at all now. And Cindy and Jeff have been here for a year already, so they've been great taking us newbies under their wing.

I find I am really enjoying life in a big city. It really helps that I'm in such a great neighborhood with shops and restaurants on every corner. And the restaurants are fantastic. I haven't been disappointed yet. When the weather is nice, you can sit outside for hours, on the sidewalk, just enjoying the company you're with.

I like taking an elevator down to the lobby, waving at the doorman, and walking down the street. It feels like I'm in a movie! The sounds are totally different, of course. Not only are there cars honking, occasional sirens, and airplanes flying overhead, but loud fireworks after a soccer match. I find it all really exciting. Only ever having visited big cities before, staying in them for maybe a couple weeks at most, I have no frame of reference to how life here in São Paulo compares to life in another large city. But I can compare it to the life in suburbia, and I find the change very refreshing.

Now that I have internet and cable tv, I find myself feeling much more settled and at home. I hope to post more specific events and happenings now that I'm connected to the world again, but wanted to give a general update of my mindset after two weeks. tchau!