Day #3 - Sao Paulo (Pre-IST Trip)

March 19, 2006

In the last two days, our trip transitioned from a leisurely vacation in Sao Paulo - including shopping, fine dining and sightseeing - into the official GSM International Study Trip. Our days are now filled with business briefings, business meetings and coordinating transportation logistics. The net effect is that I've been too busy to write! Therefore, I'll do my best to catch you up on what has transpired in the last 24 hours.

Relocation
To begin with, Stacey and I were saddened to leave our posh accommodations at the Renaissance for the more economical Blue Tree Hotel. Our new hotel is only six blocks from our old one, but they are six long blocks, and, well, Stacey has a lot of luggage. (There is no doubt that she is the best dressed one here, though!) Plus, there's the issue of theft and pick-pocketing, which we are told is prevalent in Sao Paulo. Not wanting to take any chances, we had our hotel valet summon a taxi for us. Of course, the taxi driver sees two tourists in the front of the hotel with their luggage, and he's thinking, "Sweet! Airport fare!" The valet kindly broke it to him in Portuguese that we weren't going to the airport; we were only going 5-6 blocks away. The driver reluctantly agreed to take us. (It's important to note that I had studied the map of the area thoroughly, and knew after about 8 blocks, that this guy was taking us for a ride - literally and figuratively!") So, I break out my map and start looking at street names to see which direction we are going. As I follow his route on the map, I realize he really is making up for not getting an airport fare, and I'm seriously annoyed. Nearly twenty minutes later, we pull into the new hotel's driveway, and I reluctantly hand him the fare - no tip. The taxi driver then tells the valet at our new hotel - to tell us in English that we owe him R$6 (about $3) for loading our luggage in the cab nearly twenty minutes earlier. Without skipping a beat, I whip out my large map of Sao Paulo, point to the driver and say, "You....!" and then I deliberately point to the map and draw an exaggeratingly large circle around the perimeter of the city, illustrating that I was well aware that he took the longest possible route to our hotel. I then turned on my heels, and began walking into the new hotel. Our new hotel valet then asked the taxi driver, in Portuguese, if the fare was squared away. The cab driver, realizing he'd messed with the wrong gringa, sheepishly slunk into his cab and sped away.

What Not to Wear
Most of our group arrived on Sunday, but not without incident. Cody made it to Sao Paulo, but unfortunately, his luggage decided not to join him; instead, his bags I assume are enjoying a nice holiday elsewhere. Cody only has with him the clothes on his back - sweatpants & a t-shirt - and his accounting books (neither of which will be appropriate to wear to our business meetings tomorrow.) Upon arrival to the hotel, Cody got directions to a grocery store a few blocks away so that he could purchase some water and toiletries. We thought he'd get some bottled water, deodorant and a toothbrush, at the very least. We were half right - he did get some water. (He also got a case of Brazilian beer.) In retrospect, I think this was actually a great strategic move
on his part. Beer just may be the most effective bartering tool, as he is sharing a room with Kevin and Alex. (Since it is now Sunday night, all of the stores are closed, and Cody is going to need to actually borrow somebody's clothes for dinner tonight.) I can hear the negotiations now... "Hey, I'll give you two beers for that button down shirt, and throw in another for some clean socks."

The only problem with this scenario, is that Kevin and Alex do not wear the same size as Cody. Poor Cody had to literally roll the pant waist over twice,
and his feet slid back and forth in the shoes with each step - they were at least two sizes too big. And wouldn't you know it - we were walking to a restaurant for dinner that night. To Cody's credit, in his baggy and borrowed duds, he
did a mean Charlie Chaplin impersonation.

A Toast to Sao Paulo
Our dinner restaurant is a trendy brasserie near our hotel called SPOT. It's just off Avenida Paulista, a very wide street that forms a plateau through the center of Sao Paulo. To the north lies the old city center and the Italian and Japanese neighborhoods, called Bela Vista and Liberdade, respectively. At one time Avenida Paulista was lined with coffee barons' mansions. Today, it's lined with towering buildings, mostly banks, and serves as the financial center of this
city of 17 million.

Since it is the group's first night in Sao Paulo, somebody (not to mention any names... Professor Naik) decided to order the traditional Brazilian drink called a caipirinha at dinner. It's an aperitif made with sugarcane alcohol called cachaca, limes and sugar. We learned that night that it also comes in raspberry, lemon, kiwi and many other fruity varieties. (Of course we had to sample them all!) It was determined after dinner that Cody would really stand out in our business meetings with his Charlie Chaplin outfit, and needed clothes that fit him better. The next morning, he looked real spiffy in Professor Naik's borrowed business attire.

-Tamara Olson