Ilhabela - Capital da Vela

Last weekend I traveled I traveled to the foreign and not so distant island of Ilhabela for a jazz festival. 

And as you probably imagined, it was magnificent. 

It all began with me and my lovely travel companions leaving a few hours later than planned to arrive Thursday night with enough time to get ready and go to "Ilhabela in Jazz."  

And ohmygoodness there was so. much. Jazz. Which I should of expected, but wasn't emotionally prepared for: I listened to more jazz in one night then I had previously in the history of me. 

On the last night, just when I thought we had heard all the jazz there was, (fast, slow, instrumental,  a glittery lady signing) a friendly old man come on the stage and starts playing with squeaker-toys. 

So the jazz was pretty intense in and of itself, 

But the biggest "culture shock" for me was Rolê which I defined in my phone as "get no sleep." 

It really means something like "hanging out time." but the thing is Brazilians participate in this very, very late. Since the jazz festival didn't end until 1 am, the rolê lasted until 4 am and I was exhausted. 

So in an effort to get us back to the house I pronounced gently, " Vamos." but with no avail. Over the course of the night I learned  Brazilians have many words for "let's Go. " ( Vamos , Partiu, Vamo nessa...) for the same reason eskimos have so many words for snow: you need them. .

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I've mentioned before that Brazilians aren't punctual people, and as they drag their feet if they only had one word for "let's go" you'd turn into a mocking bird. I was thankful there were a few. 

  

But I was pleased that everyone still woke up before noon for a breakfast of cheese bread and the first day and we were able to enjoy the perfect beach weather! 

The biggest factual difference between Brazilian Beaches and American ones is in Brazil you don't need to plan your trip at all. When you arrive there will be chairs you can rent or sit in if you buy a beer. Everything from swimsuits, jewelry, to towels are for sale right on the water, and there are people walking around selling delicious treats and water all day. It's noisier, but certainly more convenient.    

Dogs were running freely on the beach and requesting my attention. 

The biggest opinion based difference is that Brazilian Beaches are far more beautiful. 

Walking around the town I discovered an English school decorated for Halloween. I keep forgetting that it's that time of year because it looks and feels like summer, and it's not nearly as big a deal here. 

Pictured above are two sand cars, I really hope I get the opportunity to ride in these funny vehicles someday - I've never seen anything as cute as them in the States.

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Not only do you not need need to pack anything for the beach. did I mention you don't need to pack anything for the road trip either? At every stoplight and traffic jam there's people selling food and drinks, and this is true for all of São Paulo from what I've seen.  My personal favorite car snack is Açaí, a super food with nutrition and sugary heaven. 

It took about five hours to get home because of the traffic, but when it was completely stopped people started dancing in the streets and I remembered one of the reasons I love this beautful country : 

No one's in a rush to leave, and it's never boring. 

Obrigada por ter me Ilhabela <3 

Amigos

Whenever I'm living abroad I remember the words my father told me years ago before traveling to the middle-east," If you ever get into any trouble, remember you're anything but American." 

Even then I didn't question the validity of the statement. It made sense to me that Americans would be unpopular given my  understanding of history and current events. And now I understand that the American tendency to presume our culture is superior and expect everyone to speak our language can't win us many friends...

So because I move around so much that's always my concern: making friends. Fortunately, despite my somewhat apologetically American status it hasn't been difficult for me to win over the hearts of the kind, open Brazilian people.
But I've made notes for anyone hoping to gain the friendship of some of the coolest people alive. 


1. Bake them Cookies. While there's a huge debate in Brazil whether they're called "Biscoitos" or "Bolachas" (Bolachas of course;) ) what everyone can agree on is that they're really, really good. However no one knows how to make them, so they're a real treat ! 

Making them with friends is fun too. 

Everyone Loves Cookies 

2. Music. Well this is especially true for me as I attend lessons at the conservatory, it's truly a universal language. Whether or not you speak Portuguese everyone can enjoy good music.     

I had the opportunity to watch my good friend play jazz  in the beautiful "Sala São Paulo," performances are often offered here for free or very cheap. 

3. BBQ. One of the most fundamental aspects of Brazilian culture. They're a lot of fun, and there's a lot of meat. If you get invited to one, just go. There's no excuses. I'm a vegetarian and have attended four.

--> Some people claim that sharing beer is the key to a Brazilian's heart, but it's not necessary, they also love coffee.  

4. Lunch! It's the "big" meal here and can last a couple hours. Something that's really common here are the restaurants that are "self service." What that means is they're buffet-style and how much your food weighs is how much it costs. The only confusing part for me was then still paying at the end of the meal, but I really like them because you get and pay for what and how much you wan

This Dog is in no way shape or form relevant to this post, but he's too beautiful not to share with the world. 

Um Mês

Today is a very special day for me as it marks one month since I left Raleigh, North Carolina to arrive in the beautiful tropical metropolis that is São Paulo. 

In honor of the occasion I've taken the time to compose a list of somethings that makes the People of São Paulo, well "Paulistas:"

1. Putting salt on everything. I've heard this is more common in hot countries because we sweat more and don't get me wrong, salt is a magical thing that makes french fries irresistible and broccoli bearable... but... on salad? Really?? Now that's just excessive. 

2. Cake... For Breakfast. To us Gringas who are raised  with cake smothered in frosting for birthdays and only other festive occasions, cake seems really out of place on the breakfast table. (But as one Brazilian pointed out to me, how different is it than eating donuts with our coffee )

3. Cat-Calling. So I know this is a problem in virtually every-city in the western world, but that doesn't make it any less crazy, and makes me wildly uncomfortable daily. 

4. "Tudo Bem? Tudo Bem: " the most common greeting here in São Paulo. It means literally "Everything good?" to which you're expected to reply," Everything good." First of all, it sounds funny to repeat what someone just said as a greeting. And secondly, Everything is a really big word to be trowing around all the time.  Especially when claiming that everything is "good," that there's not a problem in the world. 

It's certainly optimistic. 

5. Arriving Late on Time. When someone says let's meet at 16:00, they probably mean at the earliest 16:30.  I'm starting to "relaxe" and enjoy a less punctual life-style: at least if I want to spend an extra five minutes doing my hair, they'll understand. But it can be frustrating to arrive somewhere and not know when your buddies will show up. *

* A couple of Brazilians I know are punctual, I feel sorry for them as they must look like this cat much of their lives. 

6. Kisses/ Beijos: On any one day of my life here in São Paulo I'm not surprised to be kissed more times than I ever was before moving here. 

My first day of music school here in SP, I was very tired. One of my classmates greeted me with the customary kiss, and I'm still teased for the horrified expression I responded with. Well I had been warned this would happen, in practice it really shocked me.

Now well  it feels nice to be acknowledged so personally by everyone, it inconvenient to have to stop and kiss thirty people before I can go home, 

And I'm constantly forgetting just how important these little kisses are. 

6. Starting Parties at 0:00. I'm tired before these parties even begin. The first time I got invited to one this late I thought it was a joke or that my new friends were just really strange. Now I realize that most young Brazilians  feel ruining ones sleep schedule is a fair price to pay for partying until 5am. 

7.  0:00. Every time I look at the clock and it claims "0:00," my first assumption is the clock is broken (We don't have a 24- hour-clock in the United States). Now I can convert it to "midnight" at just a second glance, but the mere concept of a " zero" time  leads me to existential questions revolving around what time is, exactly.  Like, if one month can go as "fast" as September did for me, are hours and minutes really a practical way of measuring our lives? 

Anyway despite and sometimes because of her quirks , 

Because... Well I do. 

Pictures: 

Salt: www.msgfacts.com

Cake: www.multireceitas.com.br

Balloon girl: www.ctvnews.ca

waiting cat: www.flickr.com

Beijos: www.blogdomadeira.com.br