8 Sep 2008

After two and half weeks in São Paulo, I can list a few likes and dislikes about the place. If the dislikes seem longer and more significant than the likes, I think maybe it just reflects the fact that the process of adapting to life in a new place draws one´s attention to the things that are different and take more adjusting. I trust the list of things I like, will grow as my familiarity with the city increases.

I hate the sidewalks. My first inclination, going back to earlier vacations here, was to love them. Most of the sidewalks in Brasil, not just in São Paulo, but everywhere I´ve been, are mozaic designs of small tiles, most commonly a black and white design, but not always. On my first afternoon here, I tripped and almost fell while walking on one of those pleasant designs. If you get out of the wealthiest neighborhoods, the walks are frequently in serious disrepair. Even when they are in good condition, they are uneven. The sidewalk in front of any given residence or establishment, even if well maintained, is probably not level with either of its neighbors. One is constantly stepping either up or down. I don´t know yet if this is true, but I think maybe property owners are responsible for their own sidewalks. I heard something said the other day that suggests that, and it would explain the way they are. At any rate, there´s no room for day dreaming while walking.

And then there is the car traffic. I don´t know if cars have the right of way, legally speaking, but they demand it and get it. If a pedestrian is waiting at an intersection for a green light, he cannot (I´m serious. He CANNOT) just step off the curb when the light changes. He has to let all of the cars turn who want to, and then he can cross. The other day I saw a car race into an intersection where a number of people were crossing, without a hint of slowing down. If any of those pedestrians had stumbled (remember? I can testify that it happens.), they would have been flattened. Granted the car had a green light and the pedestrians were in the wrong, but the carelessness of the driver was frightening.

As long as I´m on the subject of streets and sidewalks, I love the fact that I can have my hair cut, my laundry done, buy an electrical adaptor, have a spare key made, and any number of other things all within a block of where I am living. The grocery store, which is open until 10pm is only two blocks away. On the home from the grocery, I can buy fresh bananas, papayas, pineapples and other fruits from my neighborhood push cart guy, who now knows me.

More of this kind of exciting information in days to come.