I went to a party at USP. Well, I tried to.
I took a bus and then a taxi, but the security guard stopped me and asked for student
I.D. at the entrance. I had no I.D. I needed one. “You’re not a student,” he
said. So I called my friend and told him to come get me. I got bored while
waiting, so I tried to walk in. This time, they let me in. I walked for another
20 minutes to get to the party. It’s normal to take an hour or so to go anywhere
in São Paulo. I
tried to find my friends, but there were too many people – again, typical of São Paulo. Then my
housemate texted me saying he wanted to go home. I had given up on finding my
friends. I was travelling the next day, and I couldn’t say no to a free ride.
I went to Curitiba. I met with a friend and we went to
a local bar in the historic downtown. Then we went to this restaurant which
offered the ‘best burger in the world.’ It was actually really good; much
better than that McDonald’s shit. The next day, I found Jesus. Jehovah’s
witnesses, rejoice! We went to a very cool museum, also the largest and most
modern in Brazil.
We took some time there because Jesus was taking a shit (I never thought I’d
say that). Then we went to a park. I told Jesus to walk on water, but he said that
he wasn’t the real messiah. I had fun calling his name because every time I
did, people would stare. Jesus and I parted ways, and I saw a bunch of other
sites. Not too adventurous this time, but this city is definitely one of the
most beautiful and organised in Brazil.
On the way back, I missed my bus. Buses
usually stop at some place where people can eat and go to the toilet. I went to
buy something and came back in time, but the bus had already left. Either my
watch had the wrong time or the bus driver just left early. My bag was in there,
along with my bus ticket. It was not so hard to explain my situation since I
now speak Portuguese quite well. After a while, I was on another bus to São Paulo, and the
operator contacted the bus driver telling him where my bag was. Usually, I don’t
sleep well on buses. I kind of hover between R.E.M. sleep and consciousness. These
are the perfect conditions for dreaming. I had a very long dream where I was
kidnapped by some gangsters and was held there until the morning. I was then
thrown onto the sidewalk. I had lost my bag, my shirt, and everything in my
pockets. I decided to take a taxi home and then pay him. I had hoped that somehow
some of my stuff would be at home, and that my housemate would be there. And
then I woke up. I saw people in the bus laughing at me. They said that it was
just a dream. Then I woke up again. I was in the second level of dreams, dreaming
that I was dreaming. Dreamception! I got to São Paulo and managed to get my bag. I went
to the metro and it was full. Typical of Sã...you get the idea. Although being
squashed like a can of tuna is annoying, it has its benefits. It depends on
where you are standing. If you are between two girls (or two guys if you like),
it could be fun. I was standing between two girls, and I figured that since we
already got to second base, I should ask for their number just out of courtesy.
*One workweek later*
I went to Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon). It was, indeed,
beautiful, and almost all the attractions were at walking distance. I had the
hostel all to myself. Since I saw all the main attractions on the first day, I
decided to go to another city the next day. I carpooled there early in the
morning. It’s a small mining city in the mountains called Ouro Preto (Black
Gold). I visited many colonial churches. I eavesdropped on a tour and found out
many interesting things. The architectural style is uniquely Brazilian. Then I
went to a gold mine. The second half of the day was ruined by lots of rain. Scumbag
Zeus strikes again. I couldn’t do anything, so I went and relaxed at the hostel
while waiting for my shoes to dry.
Meanwhile in school, I have presented
several times about myself and my culture. I have also done many tasks like
marking tests, making exercises and subbing for teachers. I have some free time
most days, so I play the piano, or surf the net. I’ve travelled on almost all
the weekends, so I am always busy in the weekdays. It’s more efficient writing
these blog posts in one entry, hence the long post. Anyway, more exciting
adventures coming up. Bye for now.
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