Orr Fellowship - Brazil (Days 1-2: Travel/Sao Paulo)

     Oi ("Hi" in Portuguese), from Sao Paulo. Had a great travel day on Monday starting with on-time flights from IND to Detroit, where we found our Boeing 767 at the gate and ready to take us on the 10hr40min trek to Sao Paulo. With uneventful travel getting us here on Tuesday morning and everyone (20 Orr Fellows) making it successfully through immigration and baggage claim, we boarded our coach and made the 40min (turned 1h30min) ride across gridlocked Sao Paulo streets. Sounds like it could be much worse, but Brazilian law dictates the amount of vehicles permitted on city streets during rush hour on certain days (as arranged by the starting digits of your license plate number).


My man (roommate) Mitch

     We made it to our hotel around 10:30a local time (1h ahead of EST), and were assigned rooms. After we carted baggage up to our rooms, and taking a look at the rooftop pool/patio, we headed out for an afternoon of exploration. A group of us enlisted the help of our travel coordinator's husband in getting us across town to the Museu do Futebol and Municipal Stadium where one of the city's league teams is headquartered. After a good 8-block climb, we made it to a subway stop that would save us another couple miles' walk in getting closer to L'Estadio Municipal.


(counter-clockwise from Mitch) EJ, Kevin, Kelly,
Conner, and Goberto enjoying lunch at the market

     Arriving at the stadium, we were lucky enough to find a market in the parking lot with fresh fruit, veggies, sugar cane drinks and "pastels" (think Hot Pocket of freshly deep-fried dough filled with your choice of meats/cheeses). With satisfied appetites we headed into the museum and took in a couple hours of the history of the game we call soccer. Not being a huge fan of soccer, it was still an intriguing experience. We learned about how the game was brought over by European immigrants and enjoyed by the upper class for years before the working class was able to take part. From there, its widespread adoption as the national sport happened rapidly and is now part of the fabric of the country.



(From L) Anthony, EJ, Kevin and Mitch

     On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the grocery store (just a block away from the hotel) to grab some bottled water, and other food/drink to keep us energized between meals). The hotel gym was sufficient for a nice bike/jog workout before cleaning up for dinner. We grouped up for dinner in the hotel restaurant where we enjoyed fish, beef, and chicken along with rice and noodles. Those dishes were preceded by appetizers like bruschetta, assorted breads/jams and a full salad bar. I was a little lost without traditional salad dressings I'm accustomed to. I'm told most salads in Brazil are topped (if at all) with only an oil or vineagar dressing. Dessert was fresh fruit salad and lime mousse with passionfruit cake and others I didn't have the stomach capacity to even entertain the possibility of eating.

     After some words from our local expert on the area, to-do's, not to-do's, etc., we ventured with a local Exact Target team member to a coffee shop/bar/restaurant/convenience store and enjoyed the evening on the outdoor patio. Activity dwindled ~11p and we all headed back to tank up on sleep for many days left here in Sao Paulo.

Obrigado ("Thanks"),
Barry