Good Friday

Adriel and I with our hosts

Sexta-feira Santa

               One of the benefits of doing the interviews of the different businesses was the amount of people we were able to meet. On one such occasion Adriel and I left an interview with an invite to eat lunch with a family on the Friday before Easter, which is called Good Friday. The family was the Aunt and Uncle of Stêffani, who is a friend of ours from the ERS.

                We left early in the morning knowing that there was quite a bit of travel ahead of us. We hopped on the subway and headed to our destination. It took about an hour and a half of straight travel, but as soon as we entered the house, I knew it had all been worth it. We were greeted at the door with chocolates and told that the food was almost ready. This was accompanied by a divine smell coming from the kitchen. When the table was prepared and the food ready, I surveyed the feast that lay in front of me. The main dish, and part of the Good Friday tradition, was baked Cod. Potatoes and onions adorned the tray with the fish. For side dishes: a heart of palm pie, rice, peppers, mashed potatoes, lentils, and salmon. The fish was great and the pie was made from the most amazing crust. After eating to the brim, the table was cleared and ice cream was served. With family and friends around the table, the atmosphere and conversation was pleasant, yet soon, one by one, people made their way to couches and beds as sleep set in. A few of us remained telling jokes and sharing experiences before it was time to go.

                I also was able to learn the importance of Good Friday and why it is a custom to eat fish. I learned that the Catholic Church started this tradition as a way to purify the body and respect flesh on the day that Christ died on the cross. Today, many people who do not follow the Catholic religion still are accustomed to eat fish on this day from the cultural custom.

Stêffani, Me, Adriel

Architecture on Paulista Avenue

ERS Office Building

Avenida Paulista

                The architecture on Avenida Paulista always impressed me as every time we traveled to the ERS office. With four lanes each way and towering skyscrapers on every side, it gave me the feeling that I was in New York City. The feeling was appropriate considering the financial importance that the avenue holds in São Paulo. Avenida Paulista was the commercial center for São Paulo and is the site for many headquarters for many of the largest banks in South America. The architecture on the avenue reflects the different eras of Brazil from old to modern. 

FIESP Headquarters

                The FIESP Headquarters is one building of particular interest. It displays a huge television on the outside. One night, as Adriel and I were heading home from teaching the career workshop, the whole building was turned into a massive video game. Tetris and Space Invaders were being played. I don’t think you can get a screen bigger than that. Some buildings seemed to have greek influence while others leaned to more futuristic style. Anywhere you looked, Avenida Paulista was never boring to look at.

Ipiranga Museum

Ipiranga Museum

                Another place on the list of places to visit for our class was Ipiranga Museum. The museum is entrance is called Independence Park. The place is beautiful. Directly in front there is a monument built in honor of the Brazilian’s independence. After passing the statues and bowl of fire, we walked up the huge sidewalk to see many people long boarding down the hill. I could tell they were serious just by looking at all the protective gear they were wearing. Continuing up the hill, the museum is in plain sight. It reminds me of a renaissance house with lush green gardens and reflection pools to greet you as you walk up to the front door. I would not mind having a house like that and I don’t think anyone would unless you had to clean it all alone. Behind the museum is a park for people to run under the shade of trees, along with small playgrounds for the children. Adriel and I walked up to the museum to enter when we received the information that it closed a little while before we arrived. I still consider the trip a success through the cool pictures we were able to take and the beauty we were able to see.

Our Last Career Workshop

O Último CASP

                Alas, we have taught our last Career Workshop this week. It was a night class held at the Employment Resource Center. Already with few people signed up, we knew that it would be a small turnout. Even with the rain that decided to show up the first night of class, four people held strong and came. This put an interesting twist on our game plan because Adriel and I usually use group activities needing about 7 to 9 people. With a few alterations, we were able to teach a good class. In fact, the students were so cooperative that we were able to finish a day early. 

Interview with the CEO of Baby.com.br

Meeting Davis Smith

                Adriel and I have continued doing some interviews with entrepreneurs over the past few weeks. Today we were able to meet a small celebrity to us who study at BYU; his name is Davis Smith. Davis studied at BYU for his undergrad and went abroad for various internships (including the ERS internship). He then started a business for selling custom-made pool tables online. The business grew to be the number one pool table seller in the country before he and his cousin sold it. He later went back to school and completed a MBA at Wharton University. In 2011, he once again stepped up to the plate to start baby.com.br which has become the most popular ecommerce company of baby products in all of Brazil. He has since moved to São Paulo with his family and occasionally visits the USA. Adriel was able to get in contact with Davis and set up an interview at a local bakery. I learned a ton about risk taking, idea generating and obstacle overcoming during that interview. I would say it was the most interesting interview we’ve done so far.

Missionary Activity

Once Again Working the White Field

                This last Sunday our Elder’s Quorum put together a missionary activity. Everyone was divided up into companionships and given materials in order to make street contacts. It brought me straight back to the two years I spent as a missionary. My group was a trio, and we walked quite a ways to get to a park within our designated area. We talked to a family cleaning their sidewalk, a few couples in the park, and some single moms with their kids. It was awesome to be able to feel that spirit again as I talked to people and bore testimony. The experience was even complete with a rain storm pelting us on the way home. The activity was a great reminder of the importance of missionary work.

Last Dance in Brazil

Institute and Dance

                Our first visit to institute was so great that we were determined to be repeat offenders. We arrived and had our choosing of joining the English or the Portuguese class. I was tempted at first to go English but realizing that this was close to our last week here in São Paulo, I had to take advantage of the language while I had it. Plus, the Portuguese class had a lot more girls, and they bring such a sweet spirit to any class.

                After institute, a dance was being held at the same building. Right from the start, I was excited for the dance. I kept seeing friends that I had made from my time here and was able to try out all those new dance moves that I have been learning from the classes. It ended up being a fun night and by the end of it all I was wiped out. One thing did puzzle me, the food served at the dance was hot dogs . . . yep, the bad-breath-generator to the max. I could just imagine hot dog breathe suffocating your dance partner and restrained myself from eating any.

Embu

Art Shows

            Visiting Embu was suggested by our Sunday School teacher and a good suggestion at that. Embu is a neighboring city close to São Paulo that is known for their art fairs on the weekends and their honey. Adriel and I invited our friend Peter to come along and headed down there after our YSA breakfast. The place was really quite cool. There were little street shops set up with all kinds of things to buy. There were dragons made from paper, maps made leather, blankets, rugs, hammocks, little metal and wood figurines, hats, paintings, and honey. It reminded me of the Art shows that my mom would take me to every year on Mercer Island. After some looking around, we had an incredible lunch of seafood at a local restaurant. It was just a nice get-away from the busyness of São Paulo

Adriel and Peter

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YSA Activity

Festa dos Solteiros

                     Our ward planned a get-together for the YSAthis last Friday that was a lot of fun. We started out at the Ribes’ home. Adriel and I got there a little late but early according to Brazilian Standard Time, so hardly anyone else had arrived. The party was in that mood where everyone is a little hesitant to talk to other people and just keep to themselves or their close friends. Looking around the room, I wanted to change that, so Adriel and I got a group together and started playing Ninja Destruction (always a good warm-up game). Some people who knew the game jumped right in, but everyone else came over to watch. Just like that, the ice was broken. The game didn’t last too long but it broke that awkward barrier and other games soon started breaking out over the room. Pizza was later served, and so much of it that there were four entire boxes left over. The bishop then gave a spiritual thought and more games commenced. I have to mention that playing Charades is not easy with a more limited vocabulary. Although, it is pretty awkward when you shout out the right name to an alcoholic beverage before anyone else and get it right. Everyone tends to wonder after that. The next morning everyone met up for a great breakfast and Adriel impressed everyone with his crazy flips on the trampoline. The activity succeeded in its purpose and new friendships were made and old ones were strengthened.

Pátio do Colêgio

Detoxification

                We recently received notice that we had to leave the house in the afternoon. The Bug Control people were going to “toxify” the place. After a full morning of school work it was welcome news, and we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and visit one of the places on our list. The choice was made to check out the Pátio do Colêgio which is the place where São Paulo was founded. The building is a replica of an old church that was established by the Jesuits in 1554. By the time we arrived the museum had closed but we were able to visit the church which held some interesting treasures including: a leg bone of a Jesuit, old Jesuit robe, documents, and old scriptures. We  were able to visit the Cathedral again and walked around the neighborhood.

A House Full of Snakes

Instituto Butantan

                After an amazing lunch fit for kings, our Sunday school teacher dropped us off at the Butantã Institute. From what I heard, it was a place that USP keeps reptiles. It’s not only a reptile museum of sorts but so much more. Our first stop was the Serpentário, which to be honest, wasn’t all that exciting. It’s a whole in the ground divided into three sections to keep different snakes; I saw only one. The rest of the park held more treasures. For a small fee of R$2.50, we were able to visit the microbiology museum, the old artifacts place (I didn’t catch a name so that’s what I’m going to call it), the monkey-ria, and what seemed like a reptile house at any zoo (only this one had every type of snake imaginable). Another very interesting and educational trip for the books. 

My Favorite Snake in the Institute

Lending a Helping Hand with English

Texto da Irmã Jô Ribes e Almoço

                Just a few days ago, I received a call from my Sunday school teacher in the ward. She asked if Adriel and I could review a document that had been translated from Portuguese to English to put on her businesses website. I agreed and started to look over the document for grammatical and spelling errors. Most of it was understandable but I quickly realized that it didn’t possess the American English flow, but was rather translated directly from the Brazilian way of formatting sentences. Adriel and I decided it would be better to meet with her at her office to work on the document, which was a good decision considering how many questions we asked her about what exactly she wanted to say. It took about 3 and a half hours of work and the finally product was exceptionally translated if I do say so myself. It made me appreciate, so much more, the work that translators do for books, movies, and conferences. At the end of our service project we were received an exceptional lunch from a local restaurant.

The Lecture in Spanish

Ricardo Lagos

Palestra com o Ex-Presidente da Chile Ricardo Lagos

                Our purpose to visiting the University of São Paulo was to watch a lecture given by the Ex-President of Chile Ricardo Lagos. It took Adriel and me awhile to finally find the right Auditorium but eventually we got there and even arrived early. A few minutes later we met with Ana and her friend and after some brief chit-chat, we entered the room. All was good during the thorough presentations as they introduced each important person in the room. It wasn’t until President Ricardo Lagos started speaking that we realized that the whole thing was going to be in Spanish. Normally, I’m able to understand roughly 80% of what’s being said due to its similarity to Portuguese, but not when the topic involves complicated economic and political terms. We lasted for about an hour before discreetly exiting the room. From what I understood of the lecture, it discussed the importance of minimizing the income division between the rich and poor class and the effect it has on a country.

São Paulo University

The Big University

                USP is one of the biggest and best colleges in Brazil. Located in a noble neighborhood within the great city of São Paulo, USP commands a prestige in the university world. A public school where the requirement for acceptance is to score above a certain level on a test (Sorry, that’s really vague). Pretty much to sum it all up, you have to be smart and motivated to get in. The benefit of studying at a public school here in Brazil is that you don’t have to pay a dime for tuition. Adeus student loans!

                Adriel and I were invited to visit the Campus by Ana, one of our friends that we met at the YSA Conference a while back. When we first arrived on the campus, I noticed how big it was. I thought that I had it bad walking from the Tanner to the Joseph Smith building but that is nothing compared to immensity of USP. They have buses running through campus that students can use for free just to get to the other side if need be. We were able to visit an international exchange club that Ana had participated in before. We walked in got our celebrity treatment and headed out. One thing I found interesting was that there isn’t really any School rivalries between other schools; instead, the rivalries exist between departments. I haven’t noticed too much of that at BYU but I’m not deep into any program so far, so I have yet to see.

FHE Night

A Trip to Guatemala

            Sunday, there was an FHE organized for the Stake YSA. Aline’s dad gave a presentation about his trip to Guatemala and some of the sights he was able to visit. I’ve seen some similar presentations before but the Brazilian perspective made the whole presentation unique. He showed us the temples and pyramids along with different artifacts made from Jade that were found around the sights. Afterward, a group of us were able to go back to his house to see more pictures and ask other questions. Some pretty crazy stuff, but no alien skulls so I guess the Indiana Jones guys got it wrong.

Institute

A typical Saturday

                    Saturday was my first experience at institute in Brazil. Since summer vacation ended only a couple of weeks ago, institute had been put on hold. The building is just a short walk from where Adriel and I live that there is no excuse not to go. We even managed to get to the building early. The lesson talked about the New Testament and was great. Afterward, we met up with a bunch of friends and we all decided to go to a dance and convinced a few others to come with us. That may not have been the best idea because when we got there, it was almost completely empty. Our group of five people nearly doubled the attendance. I felt bad for the organizers of the dance but even that couldn’t keep me there. We soon left to visit another dance not too far away. The problem with this other dance was that it was mixed with the young men and young women. I don’t know about the next guy, but I like to dance with people my own age. It was fun to see everyone dancing with such energy but we didn’t stay that long and left to get a quick bite to eat before heading home.

Santos Day 4

Showing off my skills

Surfing!!!

Still not wanting to leave the beach without surfing, I started asking around online for anybody who could help me find a surf board. I got wind of another surfing school that also gave free lessons that was at a different part of the beach. Adriel and I checked out of our hotel and decided to leave our stuff at the chapel in Santos. Unfortunately, the place was empty and we had to keep hauling our stuff with us. 

We stopped to eat lunch and then headed to the see if the school existed.  Sure enough, it did. It was closed till 3 and while we waited for the people to return, we chatted with some life guards. One of the guards was very nice and offered to talk to the manager to get us in and find a place to leave our bags. When the managers came we signed up for the class. We were only in the beginner’s course but they provided everything from a shirt to a board; plus, our instructor was pretty cute. They didn’t let us hit the big waves because we had to get the basics down first, but it was still such a blast and I was able to fulfill my dream.

Waiting to hit up the waves

Santos Day 3

Santos Beach

O CASP

Thursday was our last day to teach and our last night in Santos. We walked around and got to know the city for a while and picked up some material for our class and ate lunch. It was a calmer day and our class went really well that night. Adriel and I held a small little party afterward for the group, and then got a ride home from one of our students. I have to mention that I love the beach at night. The whole beach stays lit up with stadium lighting so no matter when the desire hits to feel the sand in your toes, you don't have to worry about some unfortunate fellow taking away your prized possessions.

Santos

Adriel jumping off The Rock

Santos Day 2

The Rock

              Our second day in Santos was another day to enjoy the beach. I really wanted to try surfing and made it a goal that day. We looked everywhere for places that rent surf boards; there was nothing. We learned about a surfing school that teaches for free, but you had to be a local to Santos. Without any luck, we decided to just enjoy the ocean while it was so close. Adriel and I found a rock out a ways from the beach and climbed it. On our way back to the apartment, we tried fresh coconut water. You can’t get more tropical than that, I say.

Santos Day 1

The Beach

After all this time here in a tropical country, it was finally time for Adriel and I to enjoy the beautiful beaches. It has been a long time coming; I’ve been in contact with the Employment Resource specialist named Airton Tamashiro in a small beach-side city called São Vicente and the career workshop has been planned. Since the city is about an hour and a half away and we would be teaching at night, we were planning to stay for three days. We packed our things and headed to the office to get the necessary supplies for the course. From there, we took the subway to the Jabaquara Bus Station and took the bus to Santos. The trip was uneventful but as we came down out the mountains, there was a breath-taking view.

        Our hotel was right on the beachfront. Soon after unpacking our bags we decided to hit the beach before our class that night. The beach scene was perfect. Beautiful sandy beaches and scenery stretched out before our eyes while surfers took advantage of the waves on the horizon. I was amazed by the warmth of the water which is nothing like the water from the beaches I’ve been to in Washington which could give you hypothermia if stay in for too long.

        The workshop also went well for our first night. We had about nine people who attended from various stages in life. Some were middle-aged men needing work; others were recently returned missionaries, and then teenagers trying to get ahead. 

Lunch with the Ribes Family

A Great Lunch

                   After Conference, our Sunday school teacher invited us over for lunch. I just have to say that her house is huge and has quite the historical significance in the church. It used to be the Area President’s house and James E. Faust lived there when he was serving in Brazil. It was then changed to be the Institute Center before being sold to the Ribes family. They now use it for Single adult activities and get-togethers. Lunch was top-notch with a fish, feijão, rice, salad, French fries and Guaraná. Delicious food and great conversation made for a great lunch. 

Stake Conference

Sunday Conference

                Stake Conference was on Sunday, and it was a great turnout. The lights stayed on the entire time and once again Elder Claudio R. M. Costa delivered a powerful talk about living a balanced life. He talked about Real Growth and how it does not come all at once. I was able to sit next to a new friend of mine from Shanghai, China and translate for him. He speaks pretty good English and absolutely no Portuguese. His company sent him here to work for 6 months with a couple of other guys. It has got to be a tough experience but he’s going strong!

Finishing up Saturday School

CASP on Saturday

                We just finished another Career workshop this last Saturday. Each one keeps getting more interesting than the last. We taught this course with one other teacher and it turned out to be a good experience. Adriel and I took care of the group activities and Jozzi (the other teacher) used her experience in the market place to drive the theory home. After 6 hours of teaching the workshop, we got home just in time for the adult session or stake conference. We had Elder Claudio R. M. Costa speak to us, along with Rachel’s Mission President. About have halfway through the conference, a tropical storm passed right above the chapel and took out the power for about 45 minutes. Instead of stopping, the speakers just kept right on going in the dark. It was a long day but well worth it.

A Short Trip to St. Andre

Dance Class Church Style

            After a long and enjoyable trip to the Buddhist Temple, Adriel and I learned of a dance class that an institute was putting on for free. I planned on heading home to eat beforehand, but with traffic as heavy as ever in São Paulo there wasn't enough time. It took about 2 hours and 30 minutes to finally arrive at the right chapel. There I was excited to see a mission buddy and enjoy some Brazilian dancing. I was able to learn a few new moves and teach a girl how to dance the swing or sort of, I wasn't exactly the best teacher.

A Little Sweat with a side of Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Adriel, Peter and I

              Another class that Adriel and I were able to take as a test was a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class. We went with our friend Peter who speaks crazy good English and is a new convert to the church. He has a gym membership and had talked to the owners to see if we could come with him to check out the class. He got permission and we got the invite.  The class was about an hour and a half but I still was wiped out by the end of it. Our teacher had won fights all around Brazil and was like a rock. When I tried to fight him, it was like trying to fight a brick wall. Sometimes he would let you almost get a move on him before he turns it around and taps you out. Luckily, no injuries were acquired and after fighting for a good 30 min straight I felt like tossing my cookies. The whole experience reminded me a lot of wrestling back in High School. 

Me getting schooled by our Teacher (Black Belt)

Who's Your Buddha

Buddhist Temple

                Traveling is all about getting to know new things and enjoying diversity. Adriel and I had heard about a Buddhist Temple here in São Paulo and planned to go. We invited a group of our friends to come with us. Unfortunately, due to miscommunication, everyone thought the trip was cancelled. I tried to rescue it and straighten out the misunderstanding, but it was too late. So Adriel and I made the trip by ourselves.

                We left around early-afternoon and took a bus to a nearby town. To give you the details, a nearby town to São Paulo is still about an hour away by bus because the city’s huge. After a little over an hour, we made it too our stop and hopped off the bus. Our bus only took us near to the entrance of the temple and so our next task was to find out where the temple was. We asked a number of people and after a 30 minute walk, we were at the temple.

                It was a serene place with beautiful statues and buildings. I walked past my favorite statues on my way up to the temple. They were a line of old men each with different gestures and expressions ranging from freaky to pensive. Approaching the temple, there is a giant urn that you burn incenses in that symbolize prayer. I burned one and grabbed a scripture from the Dharma. Adriel and I then visited the small lake and starting taking random pictures. All in all, it was a good trip and interesting way to reflect on different religions.