First Week in Sao Paulo

Filled with skyscrapers, lush trees, and honking traffic; Sao Paulo is a bustling city. After departing Dallas at 8pm, we flew all night and arrived in SP on Monday  morning at 10am.

These motos speed in and out of traffic! I heard there are 5 moto driver deaths a day here!

Our hotel is located two blocks from Brody’s office. The room is very comfortable with a king-size bed, desk, and a tiny bathroom.  The roof has a sun deck and a workout room. The view is amazing from up there! (Check out the photos below!)

Yup... our room is filled with luggage.

I am standing in the shower taking this photo!

The neighborhood is called Itaim Bibi and it seems as though delicious restaurants are on every corner! Having only been here for four days, we have already found a romantic Italian restaurant (Serapina) , a fun Mexican restaurant (Hecho en Mexico), and a delicious sushi place (Aoyama)!  We walked fifteen minutes to Ibirapuera Park and were struck by its beauty! It has lakes, fountains, gorgeous trees and gardens. Tons of people were working out there; running, biking, skateboarding, and walking. Everyone seems to be in tip-top shape here.

Currently, we are trying to extend our expat network here. On Tuesday, we ate dinner with two KPMG guys and on Thursday we met another KPMG guy for lunch at a cute burger place (Butcher’s Market). I am excited to meet my school principal next weekend, see the school, and discuss my 5^th grade teaching role.

We begin our apartment search on Wednesday and are collecting as much advice on neighborhoods as we can! As you can tell, our days are free for exploring the city, trying different restaurants, and practicing Portuguese! Believe it or not- Brody and I are trying to speak to each other as much as we can in Portuguese!

Even though we are learning quickly, there are hiccups and embarrassing moments everyday! For example, last night at the Mexican restaurant we wanted to order chips but did not know the Portuguese translation.  After skimming the entire menu (luckily filled with photos) for the word, we ordered salsa hoping that the chips would come with it. Unfortunately, no chips came! So we did what most foodies would do, we tried the salsa sans the chips! haha

At Hecho en Mexico