My journey here was pretty epic from the start because my bus from Rio de Janeiro was so difficult to figure out since it was raining and I was by myself with a huge backpack to carry around. After buying my ticket I got nervous it wasn't going to the right bus station because São Paulo (Sampa, as it's called) has FOUR bus terminals. As soon as I got off the bus in Sampa I realized right away how different Paulistas are from Cariocas because someone actually asked me if I needed help with my backpack! So kind and generous compared to pushy, rude and crazy people from Rio. Thankfully I had arrived at the correct terminal and hopped on the metro connected to the bus station where I met my first couchsurfing host, Antonio! He took me back to his place with his friend Bruno and they fed me. At about 1am we left to go to this punk bar called Milo where I almost cried because it was just like the Che Cafe but with beer. Being around kids wearing Macbeths with gaged ears and tattoos was so comforting and we all bonded outside on the patio drinking beer and listening to the Smiths.
We got home really late and I passed out until about noon. Thursday was April Fool's Day where is called 'Dia de Mentira' (literally: Day of Lies) in Brazil. I feel like that name is inappropriate because everyone lies here everyday but whatevs. Antonio was at work so Bruno drove me to the Museum of Art São Paulo (MASP) which is this really famous art museum on the main street, Avenida Paulista. São Paulo is so different from Rio because of a lot of reasons. I have been wearing a sweater and jeans since I got here which is a first in 3 months. People are a lot more calm and undercontrol and even more racially diverse than Cariocas so I actually pass as Brazilian. It's nice to walk around and not get harassed or feel unsafe. Sampa is a lot less dangerous it feels and I actually have the liberty to take pictures and walk around. After the MASP Bruno and I picked up his friend from Bahia, Carlos formally known as Bahiano. They took me to eat vegan hotdogs which are served here with mashed potatoes. We met up with Antonio back at the house and they introduced me to this hippie girl Kendall from New York who kind of stole my thunder but was nice and interesting.
We made drinks with cachaça, lime, passionfruit and ginger and then all went out to this film screening at a local art school. I fell asleep watching one of the shorts so we all got coffee and drove off to this one street downtown that's filled with bars and young people walking up and down the street. It reminded me of Lapa in Rio but safer and with more punks and better tattoos. Kendall took off to chase boys and I kicked it with my new Paulista friends and played pool. Around 2am we left to go to Liberdade, the Japanese district of São Paulo. Sampa has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan and it has an entire neighborhood full of karaoke bars, car dealerships and sushi restaurants. We went to this one karaoke bar that looked like Brazil and Japan had a baby and had its first birthday at TGI Friday's. There were cheap and ugly Japanese decorations in addition to a ton of Christmas ornaments, wreaths and lights. We watched a lot of drunk people sing Bon Jovi and Shanai Twain and Baihano sang me my favorite Caetano Veloso song 'Chega de saudade'. This famous MTV Brazil VJ was also there singing her heart out, haha.
Before getting home we stopped at a bar to meet up with another friend of Antonio's. He was so drunk and hilarious and was wearing a shirt with a disco image and text that read "YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT I HAVE PHENOMENAL MOVES". I was so tired but couldn't stop laughing and telling everyone how I love São Paulo and never want to leave. We finally ended our night and came back home and had a huge sleepover with all of us.
Oh yeah on Tuesday I got inspired by Katy Perry no less and got a really extreme haircut. It was way too hot in Rio anyway for those fake blonde locks.
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