Last Couple of Days in Sao Paulo

My time in Sao Paulo is just about over. In a few minutes, we will be making our trip to Santos. While we will return this coming Saturday to watch a SPFC (Sao Paulo Futbol Club) soccer match, I don't think I will be experiencing the paradoxes of the city in such depth. However, I can only imagine that I will continue to observe some of the characteristics of Sao Paulo, city, as I visit other parts of Sao Paulo, the state: beauty, pride and culture, art, international influence, social disparity, and a rising passion for soccer as the World Cup approaches.

During my last two days in Sao Paulo, I was fortunate enough to spend some of my time at two wonderful institutions: The YMCA of Sao Paulo- Centro branch, and Colegio Rio Branco, a university run by the Rotary Club of Sao Paulo.

Vising the Centro branch of the YMCA of Sao Paulo was an interesting experience. Located in the middle of downtown Sao Paulo, it was very comparable to the Stuart Ketchum Downtown YMCA in Los Angeles. While the building didn't exude the grandeur of the Ketchum YMCA, the two had a lot in common. Located in the thriving business districts of their respective cities, both YMCA's are large, but not the largest in their association, have about 4,000 members, are spaced out across multiple floors, have wonderful facilities for their members, and are also instrumental in improving the community.

Here are some pictures:


























After I left the YMCA, we stopped at the Bar da Dona Onca. It is apparently one of the most popular restaurants in downtown Sao Paulo. Owned by the former President of the Sao Paulo stock exchange, the bar attracts the TMZ-crowd of Paulistanos: artists, celebrities, stylists, etc.












Not really my cup of tea, but they do make a delicious burger that is basically enveloped in cheese.











After leaving the restaurant, we walked through the city to get to the subway station.












Here are some pics of the madness that is the Sao Paulo subway:























Then it was off to the university. We attended an undergrad freshmen-level law class. I'm not sure what the concentration was, but we were all asked to speak. Mindy gave a wonderful lecture, in Portuguese, regarding the Rodney King scandal and the ensuing Los Angeles riots. Monika spoke about her concentration: gerontology. She is a fabulous lecturer. I wasn't crazy about speaking, but, luckily, Monika spoke for so long that we ran out of time! Wheew!











On Saturday, we had picnic at the Parque do Ibirapuera, the equivalent of New York's Central Park or Boston's Boston Common. Here are some pictures:





















In the evening, we attended a farewell celebration for the Hong Kong GSE team. Because their stay in Sao Paulo coincided with some of ours, it has been difficult for Rotary to coordinate our exchange. (We haven't seen a schedule on paper at any point) Sometimes the Los Angeles team, myself included, forgets that Rotary is a volunteer organization, and that GSE has to play second fiddle to people's jobs. While, I do think everyone's time would be better managed if everything was scheduled in advance, I also feel we should be grateful for the opportunity.

While I am sad to see such a great group go, I hope we will now have a better idea of what to expect.

In my opinion, the Hong Kong team has set some very high expectations for us. Here are some pictures of the celebration:

The Hong Kong team sang a farewell song to the entire audience. It was very touching.











The lady in the middle will be my host mom in about 2 weeks.











And this is a picture of me and Andrea, the lady who picked me up from the airport, drove me to the conference, took me to the YMCA, and led me through the subway.











I apologize this posts lacks some of the more introspective, perhaps even intellectual insight that I've been able to offer in previous posts. I will blame it on the fatigue. More to come in Santos.....