Southern (America) Hospitality - My first 3 weeks in Brasil

On August 5th, I arrived at LAX nearly three and a half hours before my scheduled departure for Sao Paolo, Brazil and was shocked at how quickly I was able to get through security and to my gate. There was actually a moment when I paused, having just received my passport from the officer, and thinking to myself (most likely with a constipated look on my face), “Ok, where are you taking me now?” (For those who aren't familiar with my Israeli security stories: I was detained on 3 separate occasions by Israeli officers totaling more than 10 hours, strip searched, interrogated, embarrassed and frustrated.) However, to my delight, the officer merely snapped me out of my daze of confusion and ushered me forward.

My partner in crime out here in Brazil is a fellow Pepperdine MBA student by the name of Rob Marcus. We decided on holding off on getting an apartment until we arrived because we didn't feel comfortable wiring money to strangers ahead of time. This blog is the story of the journey that ensued sprinkled with a few tidbits on life and cultural differences here in Brazil.

After my plane arrived in Sao Paolo I managed to board a bus that took me to the apartment of another Pepperdine MBA student by the name of Cyrus Cama, who currently resides here. He was generous enough to house both Rob and myself for the night until we could make other temporary arrangements. Hmmmm temporary arrangements....Talk about lambs being led to the slaughter house! We got a hostel that looked alright based on the internet photos but...yea, more on that in a bit. Cyrus then walked us across the street and helped us get a taxi. (Side note: Rob spoke zero Portuguese at this time and I only understood a marginal amount, but was at times able to speak Sportuguese, which sounded something like this: “Uh hola, como est- I mean como vai, um me puedao chegare a la vila mareeana, por favore? (blank stare) Ehhhhh, forget it.” Points at address on paper.)

Weeeee pulled up to the hostel about seven or eight and I yelled to the cabbie “Yo homes, smell ya later”, I looked at my kingdom I was finally here..........hmmmmm “Rob, man, something seems off.” The manager, Fernando started flowing in Portuguese and when we both had the Homer Simpson look of simplicity in our eyes, he asked if either of us speak Spanish. Ohhhhh, siiiiii, gracias a dios, yo si hablo espanol!!!! (Thanks Mom!) He showed us to our rooms, where we would be separated. After I saw the shady looking characters that were in there as well as the smell of rank dank and stank, I said “Say, uh, Rob, you can have this one man. No worries.” Fernando then showed me to my room across the hall. As soon as I opened the door there was this middle aged bald man with missing teeth sitting in the dark under his covers smiling at something on his computer screen. Cold shivers came over me as I walked through the threshold and put my bags down. There were two bunkbeds and I had the bottom one across from Mr. Baldy McToothless. My bed had no sheets (apparently people bring their own) and one wool cover (I'm allergic to wool). As I laid down to go to sleep that night I could smell damp towels and foot odor. The other two guys plopped onto their beds as well and it took me hours before I could sleep mainly because Mr. McToothless was still grinning in front of his computer and the guys on the top bunks kept moving, which triggered creaky noises from the furniture. I then decided to listen to my “Sad/Depressing Playlist” on my iPod and nodded off.

The next day, Rob and I got up early and went to school where we spent a good portion of the day trying to look for an apartment. We had our price limit and we were determined not to get ripped off. When we got back to the hostel and went to the common area to continue our search on the internet, we were clearly agitated because everyone in the place was smoking. And not just one and done, but chain smoking cigarettes, one after the other. I asked Fernando about this and he replied, majority rules. That fool smokes too so of course he would say that. In fact, the only place that people don't smoke is outside. I was irate, but felt so helpless at the same time. Rob and I upped the ante and got a premium account for a apartment hunting website. The only replies were for 1 room or for people who turned out to be very unreliable.

We then took a different approach to the hostel and tried to open up a bit. I was sick from the flight and smoke and Rob woke me up to invite me out for drinks with 6 Brazilian dudes and 1 Argentine named Luciano. We got to drinking, and talking, and eating, and drinking some more. Luciano was really cool and super helpful since he spoke Portuguese, Spanish and English. The entire night we virtually had a three way conversation that included a great deal of translation and even more body language and vocal intonation. It ended up lasting until 4am and we really bonded with everyone. From then on we began to really try and get to know everyone, while understanding their back story and what brought them to Os Visitantes Hostel in Vila Mariana. One kid was a Web Developer from Brasilia who moved to Sao Paolo to make a great deal more money than he would in his home town, save money by living at the hostel, and eventually move back to start his own business. Another was a Violin player for the Symphony who toured all over Brazil before suffering a major back injury in a car accident. He is now addicted to pain killers and still trying to find his way. There were several students who moved into Sao Paolo to get a better education. Another was an English teacher from the coastal cities who was saving money to go back home. After hearing these stories it almost felt like we rushed to judgment a bit too soon. Even Baldy McToothless returned to the hostel a week after leaving, with his beautiful, and I mean beauuuuuuuutiful wife. Perhaps he was skyping that whole time. Ha! Each and everyone at the hostel was very helpful going above and beyond my wildest expectations in making sure we were taken care of and comfortable in their country. One guy showed us how to use the metro in order to get to our school and also showed us around Avenida Paulista. An older woman cooked every day and offered us free meals and even volunteered to help us find an apartment. Whether it was the people at the hostel, our school, or random strangers on the street, I can't say enough about how warm and helpful everyone has been in Brazil. Near week two, the hostel wasn't as bad as I had previously thought. Plus, the area was incredible. We quickly found our local favorite restaurants, gym, bars and shopping districts. It was around this time that we may have gotten a bit comfortable with our current situation. That is until the nights got colder and my allergies worsened. There were nights so cold that I bundled up in clothes and (gasp) used the wool cover. There were allergies so bad that my eyes and nose were red and I would sneeze 20 times in a row. I averaged about 3 hours of sleep per night for about 5-6 days. And then Fernando had the audacity to impose a lights out curfew at midnight. We had enough at this point. It certainly looked bleak until...

Success! Someone responded to our add and was looking for two people to move in as soon as possible. The best part was that the apartment was literally right in front of our school. No more waking up early to ride the metro into Bela Vista. We could set our alarms for 8:55am and still make it to class on time at 9. We got an excellent deal on a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment that is fully furnished with cable, internet and even a washing machine. Ligao! (Cool! in portuguese) (Side note: In Brazil, there is security for literally every building and business in the country. Also, you have to use your key to get in and out of the apartment, which I think is a serious fire hazard and tremendous liability, yet I digress.) Throughout this experience I learned a few things. First of which was that planning ahead has its perks in certain situations. Also, at least to me, there is nothing more rewarding than engaging in a cultural exchange. The idea that we can be limited in our communication and general habits but still find common ground is such a powerful concept to me. In less than three weeks I've engaged in extended conversation with servers, been samba dancing, shown around town and dined with complete strangers. Brazilians are hospitable by nature, which is certainly refreshing. And finally, patience, perseverance and a bit of luck goes a long way toward getting what you truly want. Throughout it all, Rob and I stayed positive and helped each other out, especially when the other was having a bad day. Whatever hardship we encountered was massaged by the breadth of relationships we happened upon. Now that we're settled, I feel comfortable saying that it's going to be a great semester.