Report From Isis
A report from Isis that she sent to Bill.
Friends,
A few stories to share....
It has been 10 days since I arrived to Sao Paulo, and I already feel as If I have lived here quite a few years. I arrived to SP on the morning of the 18th and have been amazed since about how big and dense this city is. I was a bit worried about my Portuguese when I got out of the airport, but I asked a woman in the street for directions and she understood perfectly, so I was a relieved.
I arrived at my friend Debora’s place, a Casinha her coworker had found to rent, and have been living there since. Interlagos has definitely been quite an incredible welcome into Brazil because of the people that live in it. From the day of my arrival, I have been invited to families’ homes where I am greeted and treated as if I am part of their family. In fact, everyone in the neighborhood is already sad to see me go, but it takes about 1 hour in train and buses to get to the university. So, I found a place closer to the university on the back of a lady’s house that is very quiet, and has a lovely garden!! So, I will move there this afternoon.
I went to the first Rotary meeting at the Brooklin Rotary club of Sao Paulo, last Thursday with my host sponsor Luis Carlos Lenza and his wife. Everyone was very welcoming, and I introduced myself to that club and presented banners from Rotary District 5890. They understood my Portuguese perfectly, so I was very happy about that J I spoke about my experience in Africa, and how I would like to implement a sustainable water treatment project in the area, but would need to understand the infrastructures already present. Now, I am extremely excited about meeting Silvia and other Rotarians at her club!
The University of Sao Paulo is gigantic, and beautiful. I had a tour of the building where I will be studying and a tour of IPEN (Institute of Energy Research located inside the University), where all the radioactive material from Sao Paulo and the south of Brazil is processed. It was definitely quite interested to see this. School will start on February 26, and most people are on vacation now enjoying the holidays. So, I will take advantage of timing and travel a bit in Brazil before school starts, to get to know the cultural aspect of other parts of the country. I am planning on leaving on Monday to Salvador de Bahia and back in SP by February 20th.
So I will have a lot more stories to share, and pictures!
My contact information in SP:
Cel: 011 55 11 5227 3282
R. Barroso Neto, 265 - Butantã,
Thanks again for all your support. I will write again soon, or have my blog ready!
Beijos.
Isis